Is it an AMERICAN thing???

[ZansGirl 0]

My neighbours 4 year old daughter calls me "Miss Tangie" I have told her it is just Tangie...but I get the "Miss" all the time!! She doesn't call my husband MR Zan!! I feel like a Preschool teacher!! And then today in the park, I heard lots of mom's instructing their kids to refer to someone as "Miss" so and so... Is this an American thing?? Because my kids called my friends simply by thier names (although that was like 15 years ago!!)

[Malrothien 6]

Yes, it is an American thing and it is a respect thing, similar to "Yes, ma'am". You call women who are elder to you 'Miss so and so'.

[Jenn! 918]

It must be a regional thing. It sounds like a preschool teacher to me too! I never did that growing up and never hear it now.

[Malrothien 6]

I am from the South and I have always heard it here.

[Christi and Ian 24]

I am from the South and I have always heard it here.

Me too - from Texas, I still refer to other women as "Miss (first name)".

[Sam and Ben 2]

I grew up with that being common - in Southwestern Ontario. I was always "Miss Sammy" to friend's kids, my boss' kids, etc.

Maybe that was a small-town thing?

[darkchilde794 5]

When I was 19, I lived in my aunt's house in Maryland while finishing my undergrad work. Her neighbors' kids always called me "Ms. Frances". I felt old. And I was 19

[Hugglebuggles 60]

That's definitely not common around here... At least, not that I've noticed. Sometimes people will refer to me as "miss" when they don't know my name, but I think that's because I look youngish and they just assume I am young and thus, unmarried. Like, as an alternative to calling someone "ma'am" I guess.

I'm from a moderately small town in Southeastern Ontario and people didn't refer to each other as miss such and such. But, then again, Welland is just big enough that you don't really know everybody, just lots of people (if that makes any sense )

[Justine+David 218]

It's definitely a southern thing. I've lived in Georgia, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Washington state, and Virginia and only heard it in VA, GA, and OK.

[ashenflowers 5]

Yeah, I'd call it a southernly, rural small town thing. I went out for dinner a few nights ago with my husband and his parents and the waiter kept referring to me as 'miss'... it was the FIRST time EVER I kept thinking 'miss, I'm a Ma'am'!... I dunno what got into me. I usually miss 'miss'. lol

[minnew 4]

My last job in the US before I moved back to Canada to wait out k-1, I was always called "miss" (insert name). I haven't been called that yet, but two of my co workers are referred to as mr. & miss. I think it's part of the job where I work because the kids cannot call their teachers by their first name, it's disrespectful. So some just use miss ( first name) in referring to their care worker.

[Darnell 8,478]

Not universal in America, nope.

It's absolutely regional.

[ZansGirl 0]

It's definitely a southern thing. I've lived in Georgia, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Washington state, and Virginia and only heard it in VA, GA, and OK.

i am in Washington State outside of Tacoma...

and i am not bashing it...it is just something different I am not used to..after all..at 44 I am far past a MISS!!!

[TheBears 9]

More regional, I think. I don't know about rural, though. I'm from a big city in Texas and I've always used Miss. Growing up, I called other women Miss. I've been called Miss. I encourage my son to call my friends Miss, too. To me, it's just polite and respectful no matter how old the Miss is.

[ZansGirl 0]

I get the sign of respect thing.... to me it is just weird that a close friends child would still be refering to me as Miss...

(still kinda makes me feel like that chick on Romper Room!!)