Very true, and still have not been called by my first name by a kid.

Peace

Where's the slow clap animated gif when you need one?

Well where is the, "I want to be friends with kids..." one when you need one?

That is honestly the problem here. But then again we are not from the same cultural experience like stated earlier. I do not come from a place where kids are put in "time out." I come from a place they whoop your behind when you were a kid. ;)

Peace

Probably because now a whooping will get you a visit form the police.

To me this is the equivalent of the "stop sign" discussion. There are people that think it is the best thing to do in all situations and people like me that laugh at others that think this helps in any way.

And it does not stop people from doing what works for them in that area either.

Peace

You do not know very man parents do you? ;)

Peace

I do this in baseball, too. Even at the lower levels. I even do the same with the catchers if I'm working the dish because I don't mind being a little friendlier with the guy who is supposed to keep me from being a backstop.

Every other sport it is coach for me. That just seems to be more the standard where I've been. No biggie to me and I don't mind a coach calling me by my first name. In fact when I'm working a wing, I tell the HC to use my first name when asking for a timeout because I'll recognize it quicker.

And to throw my two cents in, my wife and I are raising our kids to address adults as Mr. / Ms. with a first name and to use sir and ma'am. That's one of those things that grew on us while living in Texas and I find I miss hearing out in California. So now you've heard it from BNR and myself and we don't look much alike (he's a hell of a lot taller than I am). :)

And that's something to be proud of? GMAFB. I know how to parent without whooping my kid.

You have no idea of my experiences or my culture....then again I don't bring that kind of stuff up at every opportunity.

It is not about being proud, it is just the way things are.

Again, if you want a kid calling you by your first name, knock yourself out. But when they come in contact with others, that might not be appreciated. And just like I will have to adapt to your way of thinking, there are people that in life will have to deal with my way of thinking by who they address adults. If they don't, they will get a rude awakening when they come in contact with people that do not share your values. And when I say "culture" that encompasses many things like race, social status, area of the country, age, or even type of community. I am from the Midwest and when I am in rural areas most people even if they are an adult calls you "sir" or "ma'am" accordingly anyway. Now when I am in the suburbs, those individuals might think they need to refer to you by other ways that some might not find as respectful. Either way, no kid is calling me by my first name. ;)

Peace

Doh! Strike that, reverse it.

Just stating what happens nowadays. NOT my opinion of it.

I believe that Jeff will agree with me that hitting a child is not appropriate punishment in today's society and is, in fact, never an appropriate punishment for a child. But it is obvious that we grew up in a time when if one received a paddling at school we were sure to get one from our "old man" when he got home from work. We grew up in a time that we knew that the punishment we received at home would be infinitely worse than whatever punishment we received at school. My sons knew that if they misbehaved at school the punishment at home would seem infinitely worse than the punishment they received at school.

My dad never hit me and I don't remember him ever spanking me because when I became old enough for him to spank me I could always out run him, :D. And it was the same with Mark, Jr., and Andy, LOL!

The fact of the matter is that Jeff, myself, and my sons were raised to respect our elders, to conduct oneself in a civilized manner, and if one misbehaved that the punishment would be imposed and that it would fit the crime.

MTD, Sr.

Well, since everybody else has chimed in. When I started this 30 years ago I was young enough that I didn't like being called "Mr. _______" or "sir" but since these are very much the norm around here I learned to live with it. Then as I got older, I also got more familiar to everybody locally, young and old, and was called more and more by name, which sometimes did involve just first name, and yes, some of it was by kids. But this is more about the way they were raised than anything to do with respect. Bottom line, in my opinion, is that respect cannot be legislated or demanded, and while we have our preferences about the way we are addressed, let's just say this is way down on my list of concerns. Having said all that, the norm around here is use first and last name in introduction to coaches and Mr. ______ to the captains. Two observations: I'm pretty sure I've never been called by my first name by a player in a varsity game. I've been called everything from first name to Mr. Official and everything in between by coaches and with them the respect, or lack thereof, is in the delivery. I'm sure this will continue to be the case.

I appreciate that other moderators probably left this thread open because I was in the middle of this, but upon some reflection while driving home from buying my last Christmas presents, I realized that I contributed to taking this thread way off course.

I'm locking it, leaving Jeff and Mark to have the last words, other than to say that we all may be somewhat different, but I imagine I could work with just about anyone on this forum. Once the ball goes up, we're all just guys wearing stripes trying to get plays right and managing a game best we can.