Sir???

[Pitooey]

I was looking at Leave it to Beaver this evening and at one point Wally couldn't leave the room without saying Sir to his father. Does anyone say this to their father anymore?

[lukes42]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I know growing up, I never said "sir" to my dad. On LITB, it seems they have to say "sir" after being punished for something wrong they did. Other times, when the boys aren't in trouble, they don't have to say "sir". Just another thing that has changed with the years, I guess.

[sweetlilnala]

I never said sir to my dad. I think sir is a little too much to call your father,it's sounds too impersonal,sir should be reserved for people in authority that arent related to you. But then I never called any of my male teachers sir or the school principal or any of my male bosses at work sir. Sir sounds like it should only be for the military. Another thing I never got on LITB is Wally and Beaver had to ask if they can be excused from the dinner table. I don't remember doing that when I was a kid.

[Christina E]

Originally posted by sweetlilnala
I never said sir to my dad. I think sir is a little too much to call your father,it's sounds too impersonal,sir should be reserved for people in authority that arent related to you. But then I never called any of my male teachers sir or the school principal or any of my male bosses at work sir. Sir sounds like it should only be for the military. Another thing I never got on LITB is Wally and Beaver had to ask if they can be excused from the dinner table. I don't remember doing that when I was a kid.

I guess you could say that I called my dad sir sometimes as a child, but not always. I was taught to use "yes, sir" and "yes, ma’am" when asked by any adult to do something. With my parents, I was allowed to say "yes, dad" or "yes, mom" if I wanted, and which I did sometimes. My mom always said that not only is it the polite thing to say, but it lets the adult know that you heard them, and will obey. I still have my kids do the same, although they use "yes, mom".

I also always had to ask to be excused from the table when I was a kid. That's when I would be told if I had eaten enough, or if I needed to eat more. Also, my parents wouldn't excuse one of us kids if the conversation still pertained to the one who wanted to be excused. With six kids at the table, excusing us was their way of deciding if the meal was over or not.

With the decline of the family mealtime, I'm not surprised if this politeness has disappeared in most families. I have taught my kids to ask to be excused from the table, but then we are one of the few families I know that still sit down as a family each night to eat. I also make my kids thank the person who made the meal before they are excused, which is something that I never had to do as a child, but is polite.

Christina

[tdr]

I think this is another way in which LITB is an accurate display of some middle class familes, but probably not the 'norm.' But it is significant that the adults of the 1950's had lived through the Great Depression followed by World War II, so they had been through hardships and situations in which they had been grouped and taken abroad, and had necessities rationed, and thus had much less individualism than their children. So with the 50's and its growing prosperity, and the pride and responsibility felt in being an American-- being part of the only superpower left in the 'free world'-- parents surely thought good manners and proper respect from their children were not a lot to ask, considering how much better they had made things for their own children than they had had themselves.

The above paragraph probably applies to Ward much more than to June, as he was raised on a farm and later had to go to war. Although episodes are not consistent, most indicate June's affinity for proper etiquette, as well as her naive understanding of growing boys, is explained by being raised by Aunt Martha or other family members like her. Still, she would have justifiably thought her rules for the boys are light compared to what she had experienced in growing up.

[FOL85NatandMrsGRock]

i'm glad i'm not hte only person who noticed the sir thing... but beaver and wally also say yes ma'am when june tell's them to do something... I actually think it's a great authority name that kids have lost these days. As me being 16, i will say yes sir or yes ma'am to my parents in sarcastic ways never really meanning it, but i really should start using it more carefully... quite and interesting thought!

Toodles!

[Crimson and Clover]

That was the '50s and it was basically required to treat adults, even if it was your own parents, with respet. How the times have changed.

[Kristina]

LOL nowadays if I said that to my parents they'd look at me like I was some kind of freak.

[DarleneIllyria]

I don't say 'sir' or 'ma'am' to my parents, but I do say it to other adults. I said it to teachers, even though nobody else in the class would. I think being polite kept me out of trouble numerous times in school. I had the habit of saying please and thank you and I guess I never grew out of it.

[BBF]

I don't call my parents sir or ma'am very much now, but I bet I had to say it a lot more than most kids when I was younger. When I was little, my dad was determined to beat it into my head that I was to answer him with sir and my mom with ma'am. His dad was a STRICT military man and he wanted to raise me the way he was raised. I bet I heard a million times when I answered my parents "yes" my dad would say "yes what?" and I either said yes sir or suffered the consequenses.

BeaversBiggestFan

[bktFan]

My parents don't make me say it to them, sometimes my dad would when I was in trouble. And when I went to the Christian school, we had to say it to the grown-ups. We even had to stand up when a grown-up came intyo the room. I thin children should be taught to be politer nowadays, even if it is wierd. IU know when I get kids I'm going to teach my kids to be polite, even if my future husband doesn't agree with it.

[Courtnee]

Originally Posted by Kristina

LOL nowadays if I said that to my parents they'd look at me like I was some kind of freak.

lol same here

[Jack1000]

Originally Posted by Pitooey

I was looking at Leave it to Beaver this evening and at one point Wally couldn't leave the room without saying Sir to his father. Does anyone say this to their father anymore?

What episode was this?

Jack