Referring to parent characters

[clannadman]

How do your characters address their parents? I'm finding it a little difficult to maintain realistic dialogue for the MC in his late teens when he mentions his parents.

Mother? Mom? Mum? Mummy? Mama?
Father? Dad? Daddy? Papa? Pops?

[fleet]

The main character is in his late teens? My daughters were raised in the southern part of the USA. They are adults and still call me Daddy.
They refer to their mother as Mom. I was raised in the northeastern USA, and called my mother Mum and my father Dad.

If the parents are wealthy, and you wish to convey that the teen was raised in a formal manner, use "Father" and "Mother"

[MaiMai]

It depends doesn't it? If you're using a Japanese setting (which I'm assuming you might be) it's probably safest to use 'Mom' and 'Dad.' Girls have a tendency to use more affectionate sounding towards fathers like 'daddy' depending on how close they are to the father figure. 'Pops' can be used by guys too.

Really, it just depends on your character and how close they are to their parents. If the relationship is formal/stiff it could be 'mother' and 'father.'

And also, 'Mum' and any variation of it aren't seen much out of Australia and England just so you know.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I call my parents Mum and Dad most of the time, unless I'm being sweet (Mummy and Daddy), or referring to them to another (Mother and Father). My characters are similar generally, but they don't often have parents.

[Sapphi]

It doesn't have to be just a stiff formal setting to use "Father" and "Mother". That's what my boyfriend calls his parents and they're not rich and not formal at all. (I admit I laughed when I first heard him refer to them that way though.) When me and my siblings were kids we said Mama and Daddy. Now we just call my mom Ma. Can you tell I live in Midwest USA?

[YonYonYon]

I think it's depends on MC's character. Well, serious MC will call own parents "Mother & Father", playful childish MC can use "Mommy & Daddy"

[babyfish]

To expand on this, you should also take into account the relationship between the character and their parents.

For example, in the japanese settings, the father is often referred to as 'oji-san', which is a pretty impolite, shows that things are not all that warm between the two family members. Literally means 'uncle' in the japanese language, so you might equate it to one calling his/her dad, 'old man'. The female equivalent would be obaa-san.

Not to be confused with ojii-san, which literally means grandpa (or an especially old man)

[Cidz]

my MC refers to her parents as mom and dad and shes 16 years old. It's a pretty casual close-knit family.

I also usually refer to my mom as just mom lol.

[ririruetoo]

I've always called my parents Mom and Dad ( if I'm upset or crying I call them Mommy and Daddy.) I guess it depends on the sort of MC. I've always pictured spoiled pretty girls calling their Dad 'Daddy'. I've never called or heard anyone call their parents Ma and Pa/Pop it may do to where I live though ( Northwest United States) it seems name calling differs from region to region.

[Lumen_Astrum]

I call my parents "Nanay" (mother) at "Tatay" (father) XD
Well, it's according to your character. If the story's set on a certain country, it may as well mean the protagonist calling their parents on how they do locally, like I do. But in certain cases the the way they call their parents might be different... it depends on the character.
Say like in Things Fall Apart... one character actually calls her mother in her name due to their very close relationship.

[OtomeWeekend]

I call my mom, mama and my ''real'' dad, papa. I just call my stepdad, oji-san(uncle). It depends though. @_@ And somehow the mommy and daddy calling back in the philippines gave me an impression that if you call your parents like that, you were rich when I was young.

[ririruetoo]

Otomeweekend, I didn't notice you with your sprite! (^_^;) I'm such a idiot sometimes....

[IonicMomo]

Well, I call my parents Mom and Dad when I'm talking to them in English, Mummy and Daddy when talking about them with other members of my family, and Mama and Papa when I'm talking to them in Gujarati, so it depends on the circumstances. A couple of my friends are more formal with their parents and call them Mother and Father, while another is so informal that she refers to them by their first names (Judith and Paul). So it varies a lot in terms of geography, culture, formality, language, etc. You have a lot of options! For late teens, I would say that Mom/Dad (or equivalent) is generally the norm.

[LVUER]

It depends on characters personality, relationship, and family background.

If the character is strict or shy, it is more possible if s/he call his/her parents in more formal way, like Father or Mother (and Japanese have even more way to call their parents politely). But if s/he is more carefree, easygoing, etc, it's not strange if s/he calls them Dad and Mom.

If the character have good relationship with his/her parents, s/he will call them in respect and in polite way, especially if the children put a lot of respect to the parents. Father/Mother or Daddy and Mommy. But if they have a bad relationship... or even in hate at each other, it's not strange to call the parents with names or simply "old man"

Don't forget to take family background into account. A prestigious family with strong tradition and historical background will have more strict and discipline. So s/he will call their parents in far more formal way (I doubt Prince Richard would call the Queen with casual "Mom" or "Mommy"). A commoner should have more normal and flexible relationship. And so on.

Also, take account on where they live. USA? Japan? South Korea? Urban or rural area? Place with strong tradition? And so on...

[LadyAvori]

As others have said, it really depends on your character's personality and their relationship with their parents.

I call mine "Mom and Dad." My Step-mom is called Ms. Kate, but that is mostly because she became my step-mom after I was already an adult. I call them "Mommy' or "Daddy" when I'm being sweet, am sick or otherwise feeling insecure about something, or when I need something. ex: I needed help putting up my tent and yelled "Daddy, I need help!" I never refer to them as Mother or Father.

My friend Tony will call his mom "Mom" for generally any reason but their relationship isn't very good. His dad on the other hand is referred to as "That guy" or "Father" and occasionally by name. (there's a non-existent relationship there)

My boyfriend calls his mom "Mommy" almost exclusively (he is absolutely a momma's boy) unless it is something serious then its a "Mom". His dad is "Dad". (I ask "Who are you talking to?" He answers with "My Mommy, why?")

Think of your character and their relationship with their parents. Then think: they normally call their parents this... When upset they call their parents this... and when needing something they call their parents this...

Example: A character can normally call their parents "Mom and Dad", but when they need something they call their parents "Mommy and Daddy" (or just the favored one). But when sick/upset/insecure they call their parents "Momma/Mama or Poppa/papa" (or just their favored one) Of course this will be different depending on the region/country.

Unrealistic dialogue in referring to parents could be because a character is only referring to their parents in one way such as "mom and dad" and its being used for every situation (When sick/insecure/need something/being sweet). Or maybe changing what they are called without a reason too. (one minute its "mommy, then the next's its "mother" with no reason for the change). Of course I can't be sure exactly why yours seems unrealistic to you seeing as how I've never seen your story. These are just my ideas of how it can seem unrealistic to me.