i used mommy and daddy, until we moved here in the states. daddy somehow became dad and mommy became mom. sometimes for extra lambing, i call my mom ‘ma’, but my dad doesn’t like it when i call him ‘da’.

growing up, i always thought the (last syllable accent) were very dramatic. mama and papa for the rich and itay and inay- pang mahirap…

kailea calls me mommy. and sometimes, “mother?”, to which i reply, “yes, daughter?”

Inna, my kids cal us “Ma” and “Da”. Been that way since pre-school, I think, although “Da” used to be “Dada” hehehe And Sam has this penchant for calling me “Mother!” when she demands immediate attention.

I grew up calling my mother and father mama and papa, emphasis on first syllable. By some sheer coincidence my wife shared the same convention. When CJ came out we didn’t really decide, but for some reason it became “mommy and daddy”.

Because there were no other elders in the household, my parents were easily called lolo and lola. I don’t know how it all became like that but, things just happened that way.

Wouldn’t it be simpler if we ditched the titles (aren’t they simply connotations of authority anyway?) and just used names. It would be fun watching Sam and Alex calling out, “Speeeedyyyyyyy!!!!” LOL

When I was a teen, I’m conscious on how I call my parents. I felt outside the circle since my friends call theirs “Nanay” and “Tatay” and we were brought up to call our parents “Mommy” and “Daddy”. To resolve this, I refer to them as “Ermat” and “Erpat” when among peers. At home, they’re “Mi” and “Di”.

Their first apo calls my Dad “Daddy”. My Mom tried to teach him to call her “Lola” but all she got was the word “owa” and it stuck. From that time on, all her grandchildren called her “Owa”. I think she was even proud of its uniqueness.

LOL “Owa” sounds so malambing. I think it’s more personal — mas feel — when the kids are allowed to use names that come naturally to them (easier to pronounce too). When Alex started talking and couldn’t pronounce “Granddad”, she revised it to “Tota” and Sam found it so cute that she started using “Tota” too.

miss connie, i call my parents ma (short for ima in kapampangam - with accent on the “ma” part) and tatay. when we moved here in canada, i refer to them as my mom and dad when talking to non-filipinos but still call them as ma and tatay.

by the way, this post reminded me of this family in my lolo’s barrio. they called their parents as papa and mama (accent on the first syllables) and people thought that it was wrong because they were JUST farmers.

Karen, re: “people thought that it was wrong because they were JUST farmers”

O, di ba? There is that stereotype. I have come across so many people who think that way.

how parents are called have already evolved through time. for Mama and Papa for example, parang hindi lang ina-address for the parents. heehee, pati sa boyfriend or girlfriend, yan na din ang tawagan. at pag sinabing Lola or Lolo, iba na rin ang ibig sabihin. as in, they’re often addressed now for a friend.

I find Inang and Tatang or Nanay and Tatay, very Pinoy. if I were to choose for our son’s behalf, mas gusto ko sana either Inang or Nanay. he calls us me Mommy and his father Dada.

karen, your comment reminds me. I was in a sari-sari store drinking soda when the store owner’s young son (who seems to have a tendency to cross-over to the opposite sex) called out to his father. The mother struck him on the head back to reality, shouting “Leche kang bata ka! Pa daddy-daddy ka pa, e taxi driver lang ang tatay mo!”

Oo nga, Feng. My brother and his wife call each other Mommy and Daddy. And their firstborn they call “Kuya.” I don’t know… but I kinda feel uncomfortable with exchanging the individuality for the generic.

How about this? Back in the early 70’s, my cousins were addressing their parents as nanay and tatay then early 80’s, their father got a huge promotion and eventually was able to buy a house, a car, appliances, etc. From then on, nanay and tatay became mommy and daddy.

I have an officemate whose children called him “Russ” (his nickname)and I asked him why he allowed his children to addressed him that way. He said he feels younger! He is a native born American and a lot of them, not surprisingly, call their professors by their first name or nickname also. I am not comfortable with this practice. I grew up in a world where age alone merits a show of respect, even if the elder is going to be beaten up or everything not attached to his body will be stolen. “Sir, ibigay na lang po ninyo yung wallet sa akin para hindi kayo masaktan.” LOL.

mavic, LOL. I guess Ms. Sassy is right. As you climb up the economic and social ladder, addressing also changes. Walang pinag-iba yan when Policarpio went to the states. He became Polly or Paul.

My mother in law is European. She’s a bit on the vanity side (vain)and doesn’t want to be called granny,grandma or grandmother. Instead she opt for Lola, she said , for her it’s more hip and it sounds sweet.

BlogusVox, re the child with the taxi driver father: O, di ba, the mother was illustrating the mentality I was talking about?

Mavic, my point exactly hahahaha

bertN, we had a Psych teacher in UP who had that policy. We called him Jobart (Jose Bartolome, he has a blog on the GMA 7 site), he called us by our nicknames. It felt uncomfortable during the first couple of meetings but after that it was fun. Great class. Re your example the hold-upper: HAHAHAHAHA

Jennie, come to think of it, in Western culture, Lola is a sexy name. “Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl…” hehehe

I call my parents Nanay and Tatay. Their reason for choosing these is that we are Filipinos anyway. Proud ako na Nanay at Tatay ang tawag ko sa kanila. Medyo kakaiba kasi marami sa mga kaklase ko ay mommy/daddy at mama/papa ang tawag.

Interesting lang din na yung mga kaibigan at classmate ko na ganito din ang tawag ay karaniwan mga nasa academe ang parents.

We called our grandparents from my father’s side, Papang and Mamang most likely because this is what my Dad called them. My mother’s side we called them PapaLolo and MamaLola. My Mom called them them Papa and Mama, spanish style. My kids call their father, Dad or Daddy, while they call me Mama, Mommy (when they make lambing) and Mom (they catched this from their schoolmates and tv here in the US). I call my parents, Daddy and Mama. Whenever our siblings talk to my my kids and ask about their Papa, they just give a blank stare. My eldest asked one time, what’s a Papa, she thought it was somekind of paper…funny. However, they get confused with calling their grandparents since both sides are Lolos and Lolas. My parents often visit us, since my husband’s mother has a medical condition which makes it hard for her to travel for so long. They often think that Lolo and Lola are just from my side. We often have to add Lolo, your Daddy’s Dad or Lola your Daddy’s Mom for my husband’s side…or they say my Lolo, my Lola whenever referring to my side. hahah..seems unfair..favoritism??

opps, sorry “caught” this, sorry for making a mistake..wink, wink..

You can certainly make any subject more multi-dimensional!

I called my maternal grandparents Mommy and Daddy, my parents mama and papa…Si woody? Ang tawag sa in-laws nya at Inay at Itay. We love it. It works.

Whether my family resorted to Mommy and Daddy because of “sosyal” reasons I’m not sure…I love them but I wouldn’t put it past them!

Ria, now you got me wondering if nationalism was ever a motivation when my own parents decided that my brother and I should call them Tatay and Nanay. Hmmmm… I don’t think so LOL

Pinayhekmi, re Woody calling your parents Inay and Itay. OMG! You got me smiling from ear to ear. Grabe. Whose idea was that? LOL

I call my parents “Mama” then “Daddy”, not the usual pair hehehehe. For my lola (motherside), we call her “Mom/Mam”.

My “theory” re: “papa/mama” stressed on the first syllable, starts when people try to teach babies on how to speak. Usually, they start with pa-pa/ma-ma, until the names stick in.

My kids use Mama and Papa (accent on the first syllable) because those were the first words they learned. I called my folks Mama and Papa too. Sometimes “Mother” and “Pops” kung nagpapapansin ako or may hinihingi ako. As for the grandparents, it’s Lola and Lolo. Sometimes they call my Mom..Mamoosh because it rhymes with Baboosh hence..Baboosh Mamoosh (translated, babay lola). Mother-In-Law is called Lola too or sometimes its Donya Norms because that’s what their Papa calls her.

It was everyone’s idea (well except Woody, he didn’t know what it meant). It just fits. He DID NOT want to call them Mama and Papa like I do (emphasis on the first syllable).

ScIoN, very logical theory. I guess words with repetitive syllables do stick faster.

Kongkong, re “Baboosh Mamoosh” sounds so cute. I remember a Del Monte tomato sauce commercial with Panjee Gonzalez and her “Mamu”.

Pinayhekmi, re “…except Woody, he didn’t know what it meant”. HAHAHAHA I can picture the scenario in my mind and it plays in my head like a scene from a funny movie. Like Meet the Fockers hehehehe

Hi Ms Connie… I had been a lurker of your blog for so long now. I greatly admire your writing. This time, however, I cant help but share our practice in our family since we also have an uncommon way of addressing our relatives. We call our grandparents nanay and tatay and our parents Mama and Papa. When our eldest had kids, my nephews also adapted what they always heard from us. They called our grandparents (their great grandparents) nanay and tatay and our parents (their grandparents) mama and papa.

However, my siblings also preferred to be called mama and papa. To solve the problem, we taught my nephews to address our parents ‘lola mama’ and ‘lolo papa’.

Problem solved.

We addressed our parents as Nanay and Tatay, i guess its because during our childhood days pang-rich nga lang ang mommy at daddy that if you will call your mother “mommy”, people will look at you from head to toe. Re mama and papa, pansin ko mga taga Visayas ang madalas gumamit nito. When we became parents, hubby and i decided to addressed us as mommy and daddy because in my inlaws’s side lahat sila mama at papa na even my husband and his siblings addressed their parents as mama and papa. So for a change, mommy and daddy na lang pinatawag nmin sa baby nmin to avoid confusions : )

er.. in-laws’ side : )

Ms.Connie, looks weird , but I grew up calling my mother “nanay” and my father “daddy” , it’s a cross and i can’t remember how this happens… now my kids call me daddy and my wife mommy…

We are Nanay and Tatay, my parents are Mama and Papa and my inlaws Mommy and daddy to our kids. Ayan, malinaw. Sometimes the kids call me teacherjuliecom

Hi Miss Connie!

I call my mom Mommy and when I was younger, pag nanlalambing, Inay or Momsie Doodle. I have a 100% Chinese friend who calls her mom “Momsie” and dad “Popsie”. Different but cute.

Jo Ann, o ‘di ba, it’s better to be part of the discussion rather being a bystander?

Faye, “Re mama and papa, pansin ko mga taga Visayas ang madalas gumamit nito.”

Come to think of it, that may just be it. I’m thinking of all my friends and relatives and with a two exceptions, all those who taught their kids to call them Mama and Papa are Visayans or who have Visayan spouses.

Omski, I’m sure that if you ask your parents how that happened, there’s an interesting story behind it.

Julie, re “Sometimes the kids call me teacherjuliecom”

HAHAHAHAHA Muntik na ko malaglag sa silya HAHAHA

My kids’ classmates used to call me Tita Sassy then “graduated” to Mommy Connie

Jaecel, I also have a friend who calls his dad “Popsie”. Not Chinese but Pinoy. Dunno what he calls his mother though.

“Come to think of it, that may just be it. I’m thinking of all my friends and relatives and with a two exceptions, all those who taught their kids to call them Mama and Papa are Visayans or who have Visayan spouses.”

Yup! I agree that there’s a trend. My family is originally from the Visayas and everyone in my family use Mama and Papa (accent on the second syllable) to address our parents. Now that I’m in the states, I’ve gotten in the habit of just calling my mom “Ma.” I call my grandparents Mamalo and Papalo.

On a sidenote, there’s a trend in the Southern States for children to call their moms “Mama” (accent on the first syllable) and their dads “Daddy.”

Allison, re “there’s a trend in the Southern States…” Sounds like a fusion of the French influence and modern Americanism.

I call my parents nanay and tatay, and my grandparents from my mother side inang and amang. Like your daughters, my nephews, born and raised in Milan, reffer to my parents as nanay and tatay too (reproducing what they were used to hear), to their grandparents from their mother’s side as ìnang and àmangand to their parents as mamma and papà, the italian terms…
kahit ngayon na alam na nila na ang nanay-lola nila ay ang nanay ko (I think it was a shock for them :P) patuloy pa rin ang ganong pagtawag, to distinguish one person to another

ciao

My siblings and I call my mother “mamang” being an Ilokana,and my father a tagalog from Malabon Daddy instead of tatay or papang,I cannot remember anymore why? Maybe because our richer neighbors call their father Daddy, so we have to call him also Daddy. Or maybe because in the place where I grow up in Baguio we have a lot of tourists from Manila, they are Tagalogs and when we were young we thought they are rich and we often heard them calling their father Daddy,Well my Father is a tagalog then we might call him maybe Daddy as well.Ha ha ha.I married my Korean wife for morethan a decade now and Im living here in Korea for good,My son now call me”appa” accent on the first syllable and his mother “um ma”,in olden times and for older generation Korean they call their father “aboji” and mother “um mani”. Being an inlaw I cannot call them aboji or um mani though instead I have to call them ” ssi aboji” and “ssi um mani”.

My children call us “mommy” and “daddy” just like we did our parents. When the girls were babies, we were very lucky to find a wonderful Filipina yaya in New York, whose own nephew called her Nanay. So my daughters followed suit, even if we started out calling yaya “Yaya”. I think it is beautiful, that the girls called yaya “Nanay” because after all, they love her, and she them, and they spent a good part of their day with her, essentially their 2nd mom, while she took care of them. She also was the one who taught them many words in Tagalog, so her name became even more appropriate.

When my very vain mom first became a grandma, she was not too happy about the word “Lola”, so someone came up with “Lala” and now it’s stuck.

This reminds me of an incident I personally witnessed while riding a PUJ. It was a Saturday and a girl passed along her payment saying, Student ho. The driver then starts a tirade about how the student has no right to ask for a discount as he’s better off and calls his parents daddy/mommy while the poor call their parents nanay/tatay.

Hi Ms. Connie,

This is so interesting. We’ve taught our daughter to call us Mama and Papa (emphasis on the 1st syllable)simply bec. that’s what I call my parents and the idea of my kids calling me mommy (hubby calls his mother that), makes me cringe. I rib him about that just like
I did to a friend who calls his parents Mama and Papa (accent on the 2nd syllable).

Re: ensuring that English is not the first and only language spoken by our children–I have stubbornly stuck to this plan for the simple reason that I don’t find anything wrong with being a Filipino and that begins with speaking our language.

nanay, tatay, mama, papa, daddy, mommy, pa-sosyal man or any trivial reasons, as long as taos sa puso ang pagmamahal.

obviously, inay and tatay ang tawag namin sa kanila (hint: you should get all of our names *guffaw*). maka-pilipino bah. haha. in elementary we used to hide the fact that we call them inay and tatay because, as you’ve mentioned, mommy and daddy connotes you belong to a higher economic strata (whatever that means). we felt we were poor because we called them that. but when i reached highschool, i began to feel quite proud that i am one of the handful students who still call our parents “inay” and “tatay”.

can’t call my mother nanay since in batangas (we’re from batangas talaga) nanay means lola. i learned that calling your grandparents “lolo” or “lola” from where we were from was rude, reserved for non-relatives or something. we call our grandparents nanay and mamay (lolo). then my mother calls her mother ina and her father “daddy”, which was quite weird. my father called her mom inay and father tatay. we didn’t have any trouble sorting that out when we were kids since my parents had been consistent about that ever since.

my brother’s kids call him tatay and my sister “mommy”. they call my mom “nanay”, batangueno tradition.

i think i’ll be having some trouble when we have kids. i want my kids to call me inay and i think it’s sweeter to the ears. but i think my husband wouldn’t want to be called tatay since he calls his parents mommy and papa.

hay.

i mean my sister-in-law “mommy” not “sister”

Hi Connie,

Thanks for sharing. I have a one year old and we taught her to call us Nanay and Tatay– because we want to be called as such not because we feel poor. I just feel better being called Nanay. I guess some part of us want to be nationalistic kaya nga Dalisay and pinangalan namin sa aming anak.

Pero minsan nga nakakalito sa big families dahil ang tawag ng asawa ko sa nanay nya ay “Ma” at sa tatay nya ay Dad. ako naman Daddy. I think we dont want to be called what we call our parents din…ahahhahaha

kakatuwa itong mga discussion dito.

We were going with Nanay & Tatay before, but everyone kept on calling us “mummy & daddy”. When Nanay came over, it was even more confusing because the English thought we called her “nan” which is their grandma… In a way, they were right but will just confuse my son. The thing is now he just calls us “mum” and “dad”, picked up from his nursery.

But you’re right, when we were little and kidding around, we’d call Nanay “mama” pretending we’re posh hehe

Pero… the best ang “MOMMY CONNIE” HAHAHAHA!

I grew up from poor but proud family so we are used to “Nanay” and “Tatay”. And so my son is using “Lola Nanay” for my “Nanay” and “Lolo Tatay” for my “Tatay”.

“Nanay/Tatay” were common among my classmates in public elementary school until I transferred to a Catholic HS. “Mommy/Daddy” sounded so OA for me the first time I heard it with rich friends and classmates.

Funny though, my wife and I are calling each other mommy/daddy (as an endearment sort), and so our son to us.

It can backfire, big time. In fact, it did. We were in Honolulu airport on the way home from vacation together with other our son’s classmates and their parents. The attendant in the check-in counter was calling my wife’s attention regarding discrepancy in our tickets for 2 adults and 1 child. She might have overheard my “mommy” (wifey call) and took me literally. My wife was so redfaced and told the attendant in front of other parents, “Lady, that other person is my husband.”

I called my father, tatay and my mother Inay. my half sis calls my mother Mommy. Our kids uses Mommy and Daddy, my mother is also their Inay and my husbands mom is also their Nanay.

Our Lola in the province has an elder sister she calls Ate. And all of us calls her Ate also. he he.