Grandma and Grandpa changed thier name to Mimi and Papa

[Anonymous]

My ILs had been known as Grandma and Grandpa for over 22 years, beginning with my husband's older sister's kids. Our four kids are ages 7-13 and have always know them by those names. We visited them this Thanksgiving (we live cross country and don't see them often) and they now refer themselves as Mimi and Papa. Our kids kept calling them Grandma and Grandpa so it doesn't matter, it was just a little strange.

Is "Mimi and Papa" a thing now?

[Anonymous]

Where do they live? These are very common in the south.

[Anonymous]

They are definitely the new trendy grandparent names. Can't say I've ever heard of anyone changing to them after two decades though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do they live? These are very common in the south.

Williamsburg area.

[Anonymous]

The names themselves are relatively normal, but very odd to change your moniker after 22 years!

[Anonymous]

I really can't stand cutesy grandparent names. nope.

[Anonymous]

Mimi and Papa were the nicknames of my much beloved and now departed grandparents. Hope they live up to such a worthy moniker, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are definitely the new trendy grandparent names. Can't say I've ever heard of anyone changing to them after two decades though!

Just another weird IL thing.

[Anonymous]

I hope your kids just keep calling them Grandma and Grandpa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope your kids just keep calling them Grandma and Grandpa.

I think they will

ILs will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary later this month. It will be interesting to hear what the other "older" grandkids call them.

[Anonymous]

Do they have any new grandchildren? Plenty of grandparents are known by different names by different children's children. Eg., One set of cousins calls grandma Mimi and another Granny. Heck my kids insist on using different names for my MIL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope your kids just keep calling them Grandma and Grandpa.

I think they will

ILs will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary later this month. It will be interesting to hear what the other "older" grandkids call them.

Do they now have "younger" grandkids? Maybe they changed because those kids' other grandparents go by Grandma and Grandpa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope your kids just keep calling them Grandma and Grandpa.

ILs will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary later this month. It will be interesting to hear what the other "older" grandkids call them.

It's totally any adult's prerogative to decide that a nickname, even a longtime "title" like grandma or grandpa, is something they want to change. Maybe they never actually liked being called grandma and grandpa all these years but ended up with those nicknames by default when the grandkids came along and that's what their adult kids told the children to call them. If you get along well with them, why not ask: Hey, we're fine with a change, just wondered -- did you always not like being called grandma? ....Maybe it made them feel older than they really are, or maybe they see that all their friends get called this by grandkids so it's boring. But it's their choice what they prefer.

Maybe the impending 50th anniversary is somewhat behind the desire for a change--? Perhaps they feel they want to start the next half-century with fresh names they actually prefer.

If they tell your kids directly, "Please call us Mimi and Papa," I hope you'd tell your kids to do so. And at the same time, tell the kids that if they slip up and automatically say "grandma and grandpa," that's no big deal, and the elders will understand. But the kids should make an effort to call people what those people want to be called, even if it's a change.

[Anonymous]

Mimi and Papa are not a Southern thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do they live? These are very common in the south.

Williamsburg area.

There's a shocker.