First Name Basis

When I was young I was taught to call people by their last names. I even refused to call my mom's best friend by her first name. It has only been recently that I have since used her first name...and it still feels weird!

Also, my parents never told me/made me learn what their first names were. They were always mom and dad...even in my rebellious adolescence. I only learned what their names were by listening to their conversations with other adults. And I was even a little confused the first time someone called my mom by her first name. To me she was mom and nothing else.

But it's different today. A lot of children are being taught the adults first name instead of last. I'm having a hard time agreeing with this. I was taught that we use last names as a form of respect.

Now I am dealing with how to introduce my son to adults. Do I use their first name or their last? I would like to use last names, but it seems outdated. Also, I have been told that people feel older when called by their last name. But it still seems weird to me to have my son be on a first name basis with adults.

How does it work in your family?