I Dont Get This

[sparks19]

Yeah its definitely not a northern state cultural thing lol more hispanics and sometimes i hear it from african americans too

One time we were at a pig roast at my neighbors house and they were playing music and hannah was dancing and Omar (a really tall black dude) came over and started dancing with her and said "lets dance little mami". It was cute lol i wish i had my camera because it was quite a sight those two dancing haha

But its mami not to be confused with mommy. They are different

I hear it a lot from the puerto ricans around here

 

[Dekka]

The cultural angle makes a sense. I have never heard it, and we have very little (ie no noticable) mexican culture.

To me it still seems vaguely sexualized little girls. For a couple of reasons. One in order to be a 'mama' one must first have sex. And two 'hot momma' etc is often a term used to mean sexy. It just makes me go 'ick' as little girls have enough sexualization as it is.

 

[smkie]

I would not call a little girl that but Mama MAry was a Mama and I do not think of her any other way. SHe mothered everyone from kittens to human babies.

 

[Jules]

I asked a friend of mine... her family is from Mexico. She said it's simply a term of endearment... like calling a child Junior... it has nothing to do with "mom" or "dad" per se.

 

[Laurelin]

It's really a cultural thing, but fairly common around Texas where I grew up. The only times I've heard it are from Mexican friends.

And I will confess, I call my Dad 'Daddy' still.

 

[Dizzy]

Mama does not bring up any kind of remotely sexualised imagery in my mind..... Far from it.

It makes me think of homely, comforting, twee, huggy things.

 

[Renee750il]

like today it was: Little Mama is looking HOT today.

Im sorry but do not refer to my 3 year old as hot. She is cute, pretty, adorable but she is NOT hot and should not be refered to as such.

That context would make it unappealing, I would think, especially for a parent.

 

[Fran101]

My ex boyfriend (who is hispanic) used to call me Mama.

Its a cultural thing.. a term of endearment. but I would be VERY weirded out if he called a 3 year old that. and the first time he called ME that, I was like wtff... but it kind of grew on me lol

I call kids "little lady" or "little guy"....

the REAL loving nicknames like "little shiit" "child number 1" and "mistake" are reserved for my little cousins :rofl1:

I feel like nicknames should be reserved for kids you know. but its a cultural thing
there are MANY southern women who call me "sweetheart" and "honey" .. who don't even know me for instance lol

 

[Dizzy]

there are MANY southern women who call me "sweetheart" and "honey" .. who don't even know me for instance lol

You won't get through a full day here without being called love, hun, darling, duck, etc etc by someone.

And it goes both ways, women to men, men to women, old to young and young to old.

 

[Miakoda]

I find it icky as well.

It reminds me of those who call their male bed partners "daddy". Disturbing.......

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

No.. its just "icky" and "creepy" to people that wanna make it that way...

cause its not creepy here...

This ^^. Its common here and just a term of endearment. Absolutely nothing creepy about it. *shrugs*

Mama does not bring up any kind of remotely sexualised imagery in my mind..... Far from it.

It makes me think of homely, comforting, twee, huggy things.

Exacty. And I live in a Northernish lol state.

there are MANY southern women who call me "sweetheart" and "honey" .. who don't even know me for instance lol

Hear that alot here too. I don't mind it.

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

My grandma still refers to her father as Daddy when talking about him. Even more disturbing was she referred to my grandpa as that as well. I mean...I know they had kids and all, but none called him Daddy..certainly not 40+ years later...

Aww thats not creepy. My grandma (my moms, mother) has my entire life called my grandpa "Daddy". My mom and her siblings always called him dad or occasionally daddy. Nothing pervy about it. I don't think I ever have heard my grandma call my grandpa by his name "Jack" lol.

 

[Dekka]

Hmm I did some googling (pics) of 'momma' with other words like little, hot, precious etc.

Seems its not normally a word for kids over all. And has a lot of sexulisation. Now I am sure when its cultural and the people saying it aren't thinking 'hot momma' as some skanky dressed woman its fine. But when someone says 'momma' I think yo momma jokes and all the horrible come ons of desperate single guys looking for a 'hot momma' or a 'little momma' and he ain't looking for no child...

 

[-bogart-]

My parents will always be called mom and dad.
My children will always call me mom
I always call everyone babes , or sweety or some other such offhand endearment.

No one ever called my kids little man or mama , it is always "Get these HEATHENS away from me~" or "Is he supposed to be _insert random badness here_?"

I always describe the girls as "My little monsters in princess clothing"
and the boys are just "Monkeys running AMOKE!"

i do see where you are coming from though Bre, in the way it was said , defiantly would have set me off to!

 

[darkchild16]

I don't understand what is creepy about it?

Never heard it before, but certainly doesn't sound creepy at all.

I call all the kids I work with monkey, so hey.... I actually call a lot of people that.

Hey little monkey.

I'd imagine if we're being judgemental about these things that would be more insulting.

But Monkey is a apt description of most kids. LOL Bev is called monkey for a very good reason she loves to climb and throw things LOL.

Is it a dude or a lady saying it? If it's a dude, it's creepy and inappropriate (though creates a double standard). If it's a lady, then I'd say it's fine. I know it's pretty popular in the Mexican/latino culture (or at least, that's who I've always seen using the phrase with kids).

It was actually a white person that said it and it was a person Im not even SURE the gender Jeremy and I are still trying to figure it out. (Its someone he works with)

LOL!! I call my own children monkeys too! And have HUGELY offended people around here for calling my OWN kids monkeys. *Shrug* They climb trees, throw sticks at each other, and make a lot of noise and mess, seemed a fitting analogy.

I don't find "mama" or "little mama" offensive, but as a mom, I will defend your right to be offended by it We all get a bit irrationally protective of our own kids and I think that's called healthy mothering (if its not please don't set me straight, I like to think I'm mostly normal).

But just a word of caution, pick and choose your battles when it comes to what's going to bug you as a mom, 'cause it only gets worse as they grow and there is only so much emotional energy to be spared on annoying people

Its the way its said if shes ACTING like one its one thing plus I think the thing that makes it creepy for me is alot of the people calling their kids this have their kids dressed in very short and revealing things. (ive seen a toddler in a tube top and SHORT shorts be called that and my ick radar went crazy)

It must be a cultural thing, I've never heard of someone calling a little girl Mama before. But I can understand how it can be frustrating, especially with the term Mama for a little toddler. It seem society wants to grow our children faster then they should, and don't seem to have a chance to enjoy just being a kid. In that context, it would bother me. Little pet names like princess and, I don't know, buttercup is more of a sign of affection then to place a little girl under the name of Little Mama.

The only time I've hear little Mama was during play time while playing with my dolls. Like "Aw, look at the cute little mama taking care of her baby".

Exactly. Let my daughter have CHILDREN before shes called Mama. That is a title that is earned when you have kids IMO.

Most of the adults in my family referred to us kids as "monkeys" and I only recently discovered how offensive some people think it is--I never really even thought about it.

To me, "Mama," "Lil Mama," whatever is just another name people call kids. It is not very widely used in the area, but I suppose I don't consider it offensive or creepy. One of my cousins was called "Little Mama" by a couple of relatives when she was a kid on account of her being so bossy to her younger brothers--lol.

How is it offensive?? Most kids ACT like monkeys. I know pretty much all of us did growing up.

The cultural angle makes a sense. I have never heard it, and we have very little (ie no noticable) mexican culture.

To me it still seems vaguely sexualized little girls. For a couple of reasons. One in order to be a 'mama' one must first have sex. And two 'hot momma' etc is often a term used to mean sexy. It just makes me go 'ick' as little girls have enough sexualization as it is.

Hmm I did some googling (pics) of 'momma' with other words like little, hot, precious etc.

Seems its not normally a word for kids over all. And has a lot of sexulisation. Now I am sure when its cultural and the people saying it aren't thinking 'hot momma' as some skanky dressed woman its fine. But when someone says 'momma' I think yo momma jokes and all the horrible come ons of desperate single guys looking for a 'hot momma' or a 'little momma' and he ain't looking for no child...

THAT is why it makes it creepy to me. ESPECIALLY when you are calling her HOT on top of it. Its already hard enough to find normal length jean shorts in girls without going all the way to bermuda or getting elastic waistband. In fact I tried a pair on Bev and OMG they didnt even go to the end of my hand SIDEWAYS on her. Let our kids be kids. It was even hard to find a 5/6 year old boy (Connor a few years ago when I was shopping for him) that did NOT have skulls or the like on it. He ended up with plain Tshirts for the most part because most of the ones with images I did not find appropriate.

My parents will always be called mom and dad.
My children will always call me mom
I always call everyone babes , or sweety or some other such offhand endearment.

No one ever called my kids little man or mama , it is always "Get these HEATHENS away from me~" or "Is he supposed to be _insert random badness here_?"

I always describe the girls as "My little monsters in princess clothing"
and the boys are just "Monkeys running AMOKE!"

i do see where you are coming from though Bre, in the way it was said , defiantly would have set me off to!

Seriously Jeremy woulda went off worse then I did. I was still calmish and not creating a scene about it because it is Jeremys work. But I was seriously seething. That is not a way to talk to my daughter.

I also dont call strangers children nicknames. If I comment on their child its: Hes so cute, Shes so cute, WHERE did you find that Ive been looking for x. Nicknames are for people you have a relationship with IMO.

 

[MericoX]

My sister will call her kid Mama, or little Mama. Nothing gross or sexual about it.

And I still call my dad, Dad. I called him Greg once (it was like a few years ago), and he told me he can only refered to by Dad, Hey Dad, and sometimes Daddy lol. My mom I call Mom, or mostly now Nonni (what the grandkids call her)

 

[sparks19]

I call my mother Mum or sometimes Mummy but that's just because it drove her crazy when I called her that when I was a kid... because it was always the whiney muuuuuuuummy.

I call my father Dad.

When Hannah is awake I almost always call Brian Daddy... if I call him Brian she does too LOL. so we refer to each other as mommy and daddy



on an odd note... Hannah has been going around all day calling me Momma. She never calls me that lol I don't know why the sudden change in preference

 

[Dizzy]

Do people EVER stop calling their parents Mum or Dad??

 

[Dizzy]

How is it offensive?? Most kids ACT like monkeys. I know pretty much all of us did growing up.

And you've just demonstrated how there is no hard and fast rule about what is, and isn't, offensive.

 

[darkchild16]

And you've just demonstrated how there is no hard and fast rule about what is, and isn't, offensive.

I never said it was offensive Just that it creeps me out, that doesnt make it offensive. Offensive would be calling a child sl*t, B*tch, or other profane terms. IT is offensive to ME if I asked you not to call her that and you continue though.