When do you stop referring to your child as a "baby"?

[Anonymous]

In what context? I often greet my 10 year old in the morning with, "Hi, baby!"

[Anonymous]

Oldest is 22. We still call her "baby". Middle one is 18. He is our "baby". Youngest is 15 and he is our littlest "baby". The eldest kid is a mother hen to her younger siblings and they are her "babies". DH and I call each other "baby". Everyone is a baby in our household.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, when the next one is born.

And your youngest is just... always the baby

[Anonymous]

My nearly 5 year old does not want to be referred to as a big girl or big sister (which she is). So i still call her my baby and snuggle with her. She is independent and clever and brave but has a little fear of growing up and being replaced by her baby sister (now 15 months) so I keep reminding her that shes my baby always as well as a lot of other endearments. All kids are different.

[Anonymous]

I still call my 3 yr old baby as a term of endearment (and when she’s struggling with something she’ll say “Can I be a baby for a bit? I don’t feel like a big girl right now.”)

But I stopped telling people I had a baby around 18 months. By then she was super mobile and while not talking a ton, enough to feel like a toddler.

Some people are weird about describing a 3 yr old as a toddler, I’ve noticed. I don’t really care either way, but some people flip out if you say toddler instead of, I guess, pre-schooler. Tho that’s weird to me because plenty of 3 yr olds are not in PK yet.

My SIL still calls her 5 yr old a toddler

[Anonymous]

I called my 9YO "my baby" this morning when she climbed in my bed to give me a good morning hug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haha! My 31 year old is still my baby.

My mom calls me “baby” and I’m 35. If it makes her happy, I’m fine with it. She’s a wonderful woman I would do anything for.

I'm 41 and my mom still refers to me her baby.

[Anonymous]

I think people are talking about two different things here. Term of endearment vs stage of life. I still call my 11 yo “Baby” as a term of endearment, but stopped referring to her as a baby for most purposes when she became a toddler around 12 months. I wouldn’t tell someone that I “need to get home to my baby,” for example, after that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are talking about two different things here. Term of endearment vs stage of life. I still call my 11 yo “Baby” as a term of endearment, but stopped referring to her as a baby for most purposes when she became a toddler around 12 months. I wouldn’t tell someone that I “need to get home to my baby,” for example, after that point.

Yup. My daughter is 2 and I don't call her a baby anymore. Until recently, her bedtime song called her "my baby" and she interrupted me and said, "No, I'm a toddler." But I'll use Baby as a term of endearment for sure

[Anonymous]

Never.


Maybe 2? I didn’t think of it, or look sideways at anyone calling a toddler a baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When they start to object to it. “I not baby! I big girl!”

+1. I still call DC2 “ Baby Larlo”, because it also helps remind DC1 that he’s too little to always understand the rules.

[Anonymous]

When speaking to other people about a child, probably 2 years. I consider both infants and young toddlers “babies”. As a term of endearment I don’t think it matters.

[Anonymous]

The big switch was potty training when DD was so proud when I called her a big kid for going potty. My potty training book said to make sure you make this change also from calling them a baby or a big boy or a girl to help solidify the process. I still sometimes call her my baby though!

[Anonymous]

About 1 year. Not judging anyone who still calls their older kid a baby, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm always their mom so they're always going to be my babies

This