# R. Reagan's "Mommy". **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582 "2006-11-23T21:20:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/1 "2006-11-23T21:20:39Z")
I’m not sure if I’m looking for fact or opinion. I’ve always been made uncomfortable by Reagan’s penchant for calling his wife “mommy”. Many older men (mostly dads) call the mom “mother”, but I’ve never known one to address his wife as mommy. It seems really wierd to me. Is it? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/2 "2006-11-23T21:45:22Z")
My grandma calls my grandad, “Daddy.” I gather that it’s just something she got used to, since that’s how she always would refer to him to my mom and her brother. I guess now it’s just more habit than anything. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/3 "2006-11-23T21:56:28Z")
I’m not a big R.R. fan, but I’ve always found his relationship w/ Nancy to be somewhat inspiring. Terms of endearment are a personal thing and often defy explanation. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/4 "2006-11-23T22:02:47Z")
My grandparents called each other “Mama” and “Daddy.” I thought it was sweet. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/5 "2006-11-23T22:31:53Z")
I’ve also known a lot of mamas, papas, moms, dads, and even daddys. Just no mommys. Adults (I’ve known) often call their parents mom and daddy. Especially adult women. I understand that couples adopt sometimes odd nicknames for each other. My ex-wife called me by my last name as an endearment. My nickname here was bestowed upon me by an old girlfriend many years ago. My feelings could well be colored by my mild dislike for Reagan. I thought about him was odd. But I’m nearing 62, I’ve known a lot of people, and I don’t recall ever hearing a man call his wife “mommy”. 😕 Not to be confused with referring to her to their children as mommy. As in “go ask mommy”. I’ve done that many times. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/6 "2006-11-24T00:16:49Z")
It always grossed the living crap out of me, too. Glad I’m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/7 "2006-11-24T00:48:32Z")
I think it’s weird, and not just because I think he’s an idiot. I really do think it’s bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/8 "2006-11-24T01:15:57Z")
Really, really weird. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/9 "2006-11-24T01:35:35Z")
I like to think that they stopped having sex _long_ before he started calling her “mommy.” Anything else is just too fecking squicky to contemplate. If their relationship was purely platonic, it’s only approximately as weird as calling your building janitor “angel-drawers.” Assigning a maternal sobriquet to anyone you have _even the vaguest flicker of_ erotic interest in is weirder than tits on a fish. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/10 "2006-11-24T01:36:31Z")
It may be that he only did that when speaking to others, or when others were around. Trying not to confuse young children or pets can do that to you. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/11 "2006-11-24T03:07:48Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] Assigning a maternal sobriquet to anyone you have _even the vaguest flicker of_ erotic interest in is weirder than tits on a fish. [/QUOTE] My friend calls his wife a MILF. Probly not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/12 "2006-11-24T03:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=Booker57] My friend calls his wife a MILF. Probly not the same thing. [/QUOTE] We’re not talking about what you call her when you’re with your buds and she’s not around. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/13 "2006-11-24T03:36:09Z")
I thought some British men did call their wives “mother,” but maybe that’s a case of the movies lying to me. “Mommy” is kind of a different thing, and is a little weirder. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/14 "2006-11-24T04:33:26Z")
Like the Japanese _oto-san_ or _oka-san_, “Mother” signifies the family role, not the relationship: it’s a title, if you like. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/15 "2006-11-24T05:28:52Z")
I understand it, now that I have kids. Its a speech-habit that families pick up. Your kids always refer to you by your title (mommy/daddy), not your names. When they need something, it might be common to tell them, “ask Mommy”. At that point, you’ve begun dropping your spouse’s name when speaking to your kids. At some point, it becomes a 3 way conversation: “Dad, can I have xyz??” Dad looks over at the spouse, and says “what do you think, Mommy?” (“what’s your opinion, Dear?”) We’ve now progressed to referring to your spouse as Mommy to her face. You do this for a few kids over a decade, and the habit starts to stick. Is this really so mysterious or creepy/Freudian? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/16 "2006-11-24T05:37:54Z")
For a latinos it is not uncommon to refer to women you find attractive as \*mami \*(Spanish for mommy). In fact “she’s a mami” means she’s hot. I have heard that Swedish men sometimes call their wives “granny”. \*That \*I find weird. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/17 "2006-11-24T08:17:27Z")
IMO, calling your own mother ‘mommy’ (and your dad ‘daddy’) after the age of 12 is just creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/18 "2006-11-24T09:54:18Z")
In the book _I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan_, one of his letters to Nancy is addressed to “Dear Mommie, Poo Pants, 1st Lady, Nancy”, and signed “Poppa, Poo Pants, 1st Guy, Ronnie”. Nancy explains, _inter alia_, > [@](#): > > Ronnie had started calling me Mommie after Patti was born. When I called her Patti Poo, he called me Mommie Poo. That led, somehow, to Mommie Poo Pants. Then to Daddie Poo Pants. The nicknames made us laugh — and becoming “Mommie” and “Daddie” also meant that our lives were changing in very real ways. We were parents now — but we were also careful to never forget our marriage. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/19 "2006-11-24T11:46:01Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] IMO, calling your own mother ‘mommy’ (and your dad ‘daddy’) after the age of 12 is just creepy. [/QUOTE] Agreed. And no one I’m having sex with gets called Mommy and Daddy. In fact, no one does. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582/20 "2006-11-24T13:19:51Z")
Another vote for “creeps me out.” (I had an uncle who addressed his wife as “Mommy.”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-reagans-mommy/381582.md?page=2)