When Did It Become Ok To Call Our Parents By Their First Names?

Maybe it’s because I’m old-fashioned, or maybe my email was on the fritz when the memo was sent out, but can someone please tell me when it became OK for children to call their parents by their first names?

It’s one of the scariest — and most disrespectful — trends I’ve seen over the last three or four years, and now that it is hitting home, I felt the need to address it. In my opinion, the only reason you should ever call your parent by their first name is if you have no relationship with them and, at the same token, no respect for them. Other than that, I feel like it is a metaphorical slap in the face.

In 25 years of life, I have never called my parents by their first names. Is this just a sign of things changing that I’m not grasping? My parents never hit me; maybe my mom swatted my behind once or twice, but I really don’t even remember those. I like to think that I was a “good” kid growing up, but also that my parents did not think violence was an answer to anything.

I do not plan on beating my kids. Some think that it will keep them in line and teach them respect, but the truth is, the only way to teach them respect is to actually teach them respect. Teach them to say “please” and “thank you”. Teach them to say, “sir” and “ma’am”. Teach them to hold doors open, to shake hands and to respect their elders.

While I don’t plan to beat my child, the day they call me or my wife by our first name (depending on their age), they’re getting a backhand. If they’re children who think it’s funny, I will give them the stern warning that it is not a joke and that it is never to be done again; but if they are in that pre-teen/teenage phase of rebellion and want to look or act cool in front of their friends, *crack!*

It’s not my place how to tell anyone how to raise their kids, especially when I have none of my own; I just think that if we taught our children more manners from an early age, there would be less problems when they get older.