The babies at school sometimes slip up and call me 'mom' on occasion. When you think about it, I am with them as much as (or more than) their own moms are during the school year, so it is only natural that it would happen a couple of times a week. The last time I.B. called me 'mom,' it got me thinking. He said 'mom.' That seems awfully grown up to me. My own babies still call me 'Momma,' and they are 12 and 13 years old! My steps call their mom 'mom' though, and they are little (7 and 9), so I guess it just depends on the child and the parental unit. I hope that my girls never stop calling me 'Momma,' just like they will always be my 'babies.'
The following excerpt is from 'AskAWord.com' from the entry word 'Mother':
The term mother can also refer to a person with stereotypical traits of a mother such as nurturing and other-centredness.
"Mum"/"mummy" (usually British English), "Mom"/"mommy" (usually American English, though also used in Birmingham and The Black Country areas of England.), "Mam"/"mammy" (usually Welsh/Irish English), "mama" and "ma" are some familiar or colloquial words for a mother. In many European languages, similar pronounciations apply; "Maman" in French, "Mamma" in Italian or "Mama" in Russian. In many south Asian cultures, the mother is known as "Amma" or "Oma" or "Ammi", or variations thereof. The "M" sound seems to be near universal to the word mother in many different languages.This is thought to be related to one of the first sounds an infant learns to control, the smacking of its lips together as it comes off the breast. (See breastfeeding.) Many times these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child's life.
'Momma' is mine, so what's your 'mom' name?
My girls are 14 and 11, so I have usually mom now. But when they are sick or want something, I become "mama" again. :)
ReplyDeleteAt school, the boys I had in 6th grade reading class last year started calling me mom and they still do when they see my in the building now that they are 7th graders. :)