Baby, You Are No Baby. or Are You?

I think its cute. My dad still calls me the baby. I wouldnt worry about it.
Its ok that its not ok for you, but clearly, it works for them.

Ya know what I mean P. Head?? ;)

I'm a pet names kind of guy. I call both my kids baby, sugar, honey, pooper, bean, boogs, and then they both have nicknames that we call them more often than not.

For example, "Hey baby, please wash up these greens,"
Or, "Listen boog, we've got to hustle if we want to make it in time,"
Or, "____(insert name + extra syllables or - syllables) gooooood morning! Time to wake up!"

My mom almost always calls me by a shortened version of my name and I always call her mama or mum, because that's what she is to me even if I don't live under the same roof as her. She greets the kids, her grandchildren with, "My babies! Come here and let me hug you, I'm so happy to see you!"

In fact, come to think of it, it's actually hard for me to call someone I love by their proper name. Even my friends are puppy or love or sug' or sweet pea or a nickname I've given them. It's just the way I talk I guess. Calling someone by a name like baby isn't a literal description of who they are - it's just my way of letting them know I'm sweet on them.

I tell my kids they are my babies all the time...they are 5, 7, and 9. Sometimes the 5 year old acts like a baby, so he gets called a baby.

They always will be my babies...but normally they go by nicknames or their names.

But no, I don't think it's weird.

Well I often refer to my kids as Small, Medium, and Large. (20, 18, and 15)

Just because they're, uh, well, small, medium, and large.

I'm 45 years old, the youngest of 5, and STILL The Baby.

Whether it's 'ok' or not depends on a lot of different things I think. Like whether the child finds it insulting, or whether the child uses it as a free ticket to behave younger than he is. Or whether the OTHER children resent it.

:)

Different strokes for different folks....

My kids will ALWAYS be my babies...no matter HOW old they are.

I DO call my kids their names and their "nicknames" that I have given them...maybe "BABY" is his nickname?

Why is it bothering you? Has the child told you he doesn't like it? Has he told you he's embarrassed by it??? As one on here as said before - it sounds like a "Nunya Biznes" issue...UNLESS he has told you he doesn't like it...then IF and ONLY if he has...you need to encourage him to tell his parents or do it for him.

I say "oh I love my babies"...they are seven and four.

My little one is nicknamed "baby bear" and my daughter is "sissy bear". I call them that in public...at home. They both love it.

Well, my son is five and we call him 'baby' sometimes.

That said, we do not treat him like a baby, nor do we let him act in an infantile manner. He has responsibilities and rules to follow; we have age-appropriate expectations for him. So, while he still loves to curl up in our lap and very occasionally uses a 'baby voice' like most kids his age (we do correct that, too), no, he doesn't think he's allowed to 'be' a baby.

I don't think I have ever called any of my kids baby or the baby. For as much thought as I put into their names I went with that.

Granted I told my now 24 year old, suck it up, you will always be Tommy to me. He thinks because he is an adult he can go by Tom. Call yourself what you want, I will call you Tommy! Maybe if he has a Tommy I will change but don't hold your breath. :p

Oh, he is a fifth so this Tom thing has been going on for some time.

I call my 5 year old baby and baby girl. I said one day a couple of weeks ago "I guess I shouldnt call you baby anymore, you're such a big girl now!" and she said "it's ok, mama, you can still call me baby because I'll always be your baby."

I'm channeling "Dirty Dancing"! LOL

Personally, I think if you're in the groove with it ....& it's a part of your daily life, then you should not be judged for a pet/fav name.

The ones doing the judging just don't get it, & it's their loss.

The only time it should be unacceptable is when it delays positive growth.

Well my oldest is 10 and I sometimes call her baby girl, baby, sweetie , sweetheart . . I don't think it's odd at all.

I am 25 and my mom still calls me "baby girl". for her it is a term of endearment just like sweetie, sweetheart, or dear. It never made me act like a baby... or feel like a baby.

I call both me girls, 15 months old and 3.5 yo "Baby" or "baby girl" - I also call them "baby cakes" "sweet pea" "sweetie pie" "boo" and "noodle". I also call my eldest "big girl". once or twice my eldest said :"BUT I AM NOT A BABY!" to that I say, "well what are you?" she responds "I am a big kid"- and I say... "oh I am sorry big kid, your right... but you will always be MY sweet baby girl!" She understands, and she knows that I don't think she is a REAL baby.

-M.

PS... My husband has a frind that every time we run into him he says "Hey babe, how ya been..." and every time I want to slap him... even though he is a pretty nice and respectful person over all--- and when I worked reatail older men, younger men, and sometimes women would call me to help them with honey, baby, sweetie, sugar, babe, babs, hun, dear, deary, honey buns, and once even "pregs" I always wanted to say "Uh, do I KNOW you???? I am not your __________!" I guess it depends a lot on the who what where...

My oldest is 6, I still call her "baby", I've told her that's because no matter how old she is, I will always remember when she was tiny and a real baby.

Then again I call my DD all sorts of things, it's a wonder she knows her real name!

I think it would get awkward after a while with a boy, I think he'll reach an age and ask not to be called "baby" any more.

I will always call my boys my babies. Not all the time butonce in a while. I see nothing wrong with it. My kids are less 'baby' than most f the kis their age. It is a term of endearment and nothing more.
No offense but I think its a little uptight to have a thing against this like many of your posters do.

I tell both my kids that they will always be my baby. My daughter (5) calls her brother (my son age 20) "Baby Boy", which is sweet. If I call her "my baby" she says "I'm not a baby" to which I explain that she is not a baby but she and Michael will always be my babies even when they are old and gray!

I don't call her baby but I do sometimes say "my baby girl" when I am referring to her.

If they don't call him by his name or refer to him by his name, that does seem odd though. Now if they have all boys, sometimes it's easier to say "the or my oldest, middle, and/or baby"...know what I mean?

Normal in my family. My family usually has between 4-6 kids in each, and the youngest is always 'the baby'.

My baby brother (how I still introduce the international business hotshot AND his beautiful, charming, smart, funny, .. as my baby brother and his lovely wife), is in his late 20's, my mum's baby brother is in his 50's, my dad's baby sister is in her 70's.

All the rest of us get the same age markers. I'm "This is my oldest", then the middle ones get their slots defined in different ways, and then my brother is "And this is my baby."

I call both of my kids (12 & 10) "my babies". As in, they come home from school or karate and I say, "Hello my babies!"

I call my children my babies every once in a while, and they're in their thirties!

But calling a growing older child a baby - it depends on how the child feels about it. If he is cool with it, that's fine. If he's embarrassed, time to switch to the given name or another nickname.

I've known many people who were "the baby" in their family for years and years. They thought of "the baby" as "the youngest one," not "the infantile one."

No, I've never been in the habit of calling my kids babies when they're past the baby age. My youngest isn't my "baby" just because he is my last kid. My kids are teens. I don't need them to be babies. I am excited to know them at this stage and see their accomplishments and see my oldest off to college in a year. I had cancer when they were 7 and 3. It's a privilege for me to see them grow up. I have no desire to stop that or deny it.

I told my 16 year this week that he will always be my baby, even when he is 30.

He just rolled his eyes at me and smirked.

I have 2 stepsons and their mom always referred to the younger one as "he's my baby!", even though they were only 13 months apart. She did actually call him by this name, but sometimes she would say, with him right there, he's my baby. And this was from ages 6 to 9 or 10. He did have a tendency to act more babyish and immature compared to his brother so sometimes I wonder if it wasn't a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of thing.

My daughter just turned 5 and often I call her my baby girl, but not in front of others, just when we are home alone. She gets all, "Mom! I'm NOT a BABY! I'm a big girl!" And I tell her I know, but you will always be MY baby!

My kids will always be my babies! But I will not call them that when they are older in front of them or their friends! We still call my youngest sisters-in-law the 'babies' and they are 13 nad 15. LOL

"Baby" is my nickname for both of my kids (ages 3 & 2), and I suspect I will always call them that. They ARE my babies, and always will be. I don't think it means they are allowed to act like babies, just that they are my babies. My husband's mother still calls him "Baby," as his nickname as well, and we have always joked that he was born 40 because he's just not a youthful spirit.

My husband and I also call each other "Baby." I guess it's just a term of endearment in our family. I don't see anything wrong with it at all.

i don't know but mine is almost 6 and i don't refer to him as "my baby" (he is my one and only). but i do occasionally call him "baby", but i call his dad that too :) it's term of endearment. and yes, he will always be my baby. it's all about context though.

i do have a gf at work whose daughter is the same age as my son (we were pregnant together) and she still drops "my baby" into the conversation as casually as she would the child's name. i mean like, telling someone, "yes i took my baby to mcdonalds this weekend and she...." she is from the Philippines though so there might be a cultural thing there....

i think referring to the youngest as "the baby" is pretty typical...but not constantly. only when their bratty behavior warrants it ;) we refer to my youngest brother as "the baby" because he's 21 now and a goober and we like to tease him. but when we were kids we didn't so much...i think we all just instinctively knew you don't do that to a little kid who would take it wrong...

My children used to be babies. They are not babies any more. I guess I just don't understand this particular custom. The closest I come to calling them that is when I tell them "do [the xyz thing] the right way/the way I told you to/the way I know you know how, you are not 4." But that's not really the same, huh? And we chose our kids' names to minimize nicknames, only one of them ever has his named shortened, and that's only sometimes. I just think the practice of calling an older child 'baby' is weird. But to each their own.

I dont see anything wrong with that at all. Sounds like something I will do, and eventually he will get older and say "mom, stop it, that's embarrasing" But until then you will all be MY BABY!

I don't think so. I think it gives them an excuse to act like a baby.

My ex DIL used to refer to my GD as "the baby" up until not long ago. My GD just turned 12!

Good God...now you are a knit picker. Let it go...is it any of your business what they call their child.