I grew up with Mr./Mrs. Lastname, but now when so many families have different last names, I have adopted the Mr./Miss Firstname convention for my kids.

Anonymous wrote:This is very regional. We do what people here I live now do (which is first name only) and when we lived in my home state, we did Miss first name which is what people did there.

Very regional as we never used Ms. or Mr. First name. Either last name with title or first name. Down south, its more title and first name.

Those who use Aunt/Uncle is usually cultural. Those who I know use it are Indian or very very very close family friends.

First name usually, Miss or Mr first name is the convention at my child's elementary school and I tell my daughter to use that with new adults if she isn't sure (or ask). My mom prefers that my daughter call her friends Mrs Last Name (although when I was growing up almost all older adults wanted to be called by their first name). I'm fine with calling people what they want to be called but I have really hard time remembering last names of people I don't see very often.

Anonymous wrote:This is very regional. We do what people here I live now do (which is first name only) and when we lived in my home state, we did Miss first name which is what people did there.

This is so true. I grew up in the south and my grandmama would’ve whacked me with a wooden spoon if I called one of her friends Julie or Miss Julie. Mrs. Lastname was the only acceptable option. My kids were born in the Midwest, and we started with Mr. and Mrs. Lastname, but quickly modified it to Mr. and Ms. Firstname because that seemed more common. Now in San Francisco, and everyone is on a first name basis.

You don’t want your kids to be the rude kids, so I’d do at least the minimum respectable form of address. Just remember that it can be confusing for little kids if their parents insist on them addressing everyone as Mrs. Lastname and you insist on them calling you Larla because you don’t want to feel old.

Anonymous wrote:How they wish to be addressed.

This.

Im from nyc and mr joe and miss Anna sounds stupid to me. But I get that it’s important to people.

This is very regional. We do what people here I live now do (which is first name only) and when we lived in my home state, we did Miss first name which is what people did there.

Ask the other adult directly.

For friends, Miss first name or mr first name. God friends, aunt or inlcefirst name. Teachers mr or Mrs last name.

Mr or Mrs. XXX in less the adult tells them to call them something different except with close friends. That is how we grew up here.

This always comes up. Have your child call them whatever YOU want. If they are bothered by it, they will correct your child and your child should use what they asked for.

Auntie first name for close friends. Miss first name for most others. First name for my college aged sitter.

How they wish to be addressed.

I default to mr./ miss first name. But if a person says "call me x" I will respect that. I feel like it is rude to deny someone's wishes even if that is actually really difficult for me. I'm 35 with two kids and still default to mr/mrs lastname myself!

Mr. & Ms./Mrs. First name.
I was raised Mr. & Ms./Mrs. Last name and Sir/ Ma’am

First Name?
Mrs. LastName?
Miss FirstName?

I grew up always calling adults Mr. or Mrs. LastName.

DH was taught to call adults Mr/Miss FirstName.
That seems to be a good compromise... it's what our kid's preschool teachers use.

But then our adult babysitter told me to have the kids call her Julie or Mrs. Smith, but not "Miss Julie".

Personally, now that I'm an adult, I cringe at the thought of anyone calling me Mrs. LastName. I'd prefer FirstName or Miss FirstName.

Anyway, I don't want to overthink this, but I don't want to offend anyone and have them think my young kid is impolite. Is it best to err on the side of formality and call people Mr/Mrs LastName unless told otherwise?

What's the norm these days?