Man Asks If It's Time For His 13-Year-Old Daughter To Stop Calling Him 'Daddy'
Parents wonder how old it to old for the nickname and some are uncomfortable with the word's associations.
Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock Leave it to adults to take the completely innocent and endearing word "daddy" and make it something it shouldn’t be. Since the beginning of time, children have been addressing their parents with those cute nicknames.
However, aside from the purest meaning of the word, it has been used as a sexual slang word going back as far as 1681 — referring to the way prostitutes referenced their pimps.
So, it makes sense that men who parent are on the fence about whether or not the continued use of "daddy" is appropriate as their young children go through adolescence and enter adulthood.
That was the case with one man who took to Quora to ask users if it was time for his 13-year-old daughter to stop using the word when addressing him.
Photo: Quora
Many parents are questioning if and when they should stop their kids from using ‘daddy’ or ‘mommy’ to address them.
The post got right to the point, asking, “Should my 13-year-old daughter stop calling me 'Daddy?'” Readers quickly shut down the idea of doing so with the first person writing, “I am nearly 30 years old, and I still call my father ‘daddy’ and he calls me baby girl; he won’t generally use my actual name and it sounds strange when he does! He even introduces me as baby girl so that’s also what his friends call me. He was my only parent for my entire life, and we have a very strong bond. I see nothing wrong with a daughter calling her father ‘daddy’. Maybe because I do it. But in my opinion, it’s only weird if you make it weird.”
Though most people were on the same page and thought it was ridiculous for the man to even consider stopping his daughter from saying "daddy," it’s a question that has been asked repeatedly on the forum, and men aren’t the only ones seeking answers. Women have also questioned whether or not the word "mommy" was appropriate as their young children matured.
Photo: Quora
The concerns about the words stem from their sexualization or the idea that "mommy" and "daddy" are terms that only small children should be using. For some, hearing teens and adults call their parents by those names is totally normal and sweet, but there are others who label the references “creepy” and “childish.”
More often than not on these forums and the such, people agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with an older child or adult using "daddy" when speaking to their father.
Because kids call their dads "daddy," it is associated with authority and power, so over time, has been commandeered to play to men’s masculinity in the bedroom and create a sense of submission and dominance, but that shouldn’t make people uncomfortable with children using the word the way it was originally intended.
Families differ based on culture, traditions, and customs — what might be completely normal for one family could be viewed as crazy and appalling for another. Parents and children should interact in a way that makes both parties comfortable.
For the concerned father, bringing up the situation with his daughter might do more harm than good, making her suddenly uncomfortable and their relationship awkward. They say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it” and this dad should definitely leave well enough alone.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington. She covers lifestyle, relationship, and human-interest stories that readers can relate to and that bring social issues to the forefront for discussion.