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Mom Irate After Learning Brother Regularly Calls Her Son And Daughter ‘Children Of The Corn’

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Whether or not they’re willing to own up to it, parenting is not always easy.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to joke about whatever is going on, rather than being angry or saying something you would regret, agreed the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.

Because of this, Redditor Next-Acanthisitta had a surprising nickname for his niece and nephew that he used when they were visiting his home.

But when his sister found out about the nickname and was angry, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he had taken his joke too far.

He asked the sub:

“AITA for calling my nephew and niece ‘Children of the Corn’?”

The OP had a nickname for his niece and nephew.

“I (30 Male) am an uncle to my sister’s (25 Female) kids who are 2 and 3.”

“As much as I love the boogers, they are terrorists.”

“I’ve taken to calling them ‘Children of the Corn’ (in reference to the short story by Stephen King) when I have them, which may or may not be one of my sister’s least favorite movies.”

But then the OP’s sister found out about it.

“She recently found out about it from one of them and is not happy.”

“She got really angry and said that she can’t believe I would insult and make fun of my own niece and nephew.”

“(Possibly relevant: she is very pregnant with nephew #2 and I think she might be a little emotional.)”

The family was a little divided on the issue.

“Our brother thinks it’s hilarious.”

“Our mom says I’m old enough to not antagonize her.”

“It’s not a huge thing, I’m just here to see what Reddit’s verdict is.”

“AITA?”

Fellow Redditors weighed in:

  • NTA: Not the A**hole
  • YTA: You’re the A**hole
  • ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
  • NAH: No A**holes Here

Some thought these nicknames were harmless uncle behavior.

“NTA. I mean… Don’t do it to their face or when they’re old enough to understand… But h**l, we have all been there. I call mine worse sometimes!” – Aquarius052

“This is prime uncle stuff. NTA.”

“The last time I saw my uncle, he snuck into my suitcase and tied the end of each of my sweater sleeves into a knot. Which I did NOT notice until I tried to put on a sweater and my hands wouldn’t go through.”

“Then I immediately accused my brother. My uncle started running away cackling evilly.” – Meandwe123

“Lol (laughing out loud), your post brought up an old memory. I started dating again when my kids were 2 and 3 years old.”

“The guy I dated gave my kids the nicknames of Chucky (from ‘Child’s Play’) and Lucy (short for ‘Lucifer’). We did not keep dating, mostly because he did not like my kids.”

“My kids and I find it hilarious, now that 20 years have passed!”

“NTA, as long as they find out their nicknames later in life.” – m33183

“I have ‘Children of the Corn’ kids in my family, too. I think this is hilarious! NTA.” – Impossible_You_626

“NTA, my uncle and my aunt from my adopted mom’s side would call us Children of the Corn as a joke.”

“And my aunt from my bio mom’s side would call us her favorite little brats to my sister and brother and me.”

“It was a funny term of endearment, and we were very well-mannered kids, and I loved when they called us these funny names.” – Comfortable_Push5267

“NTA. I call my nephew ‘Satan,’ and his 2 sons are ‘Spawn’ and ‘Demon.'”

“The one I call ‘Spawn’ finds it funny and if asked who Satan is, he says Daddy.”

“If you ask who Spawn is, he says he is, and if you ask who Demon is, he says his baby brother.” – Larviz

“NTA.”

“My nephew’s name is Levi, and I call him either ‘Leviathan’ or ‘Levil Kneivel’ specifically because I know my sister hates it. My nephew, however, loves it. It’s our little thing.” – Used_Contribution997

“I used to call my youngest brother a punk all the time, affectionately (mostly), starting from basically the time he was born.”

“When he got older, he’d beam with pride and run and tell his mom that he’s a punk now.”

“I’m 14 years older and he’s almost 12 now. I still go out of my way to call him a punk, and he still thinks it’s funny. The older 2 boys are ‘Clown Shoes’ and ‘Fruit Snack’ respectively, and both have made those screen names repeatedly.”

“I call my niece and nephew tater tots (cuz they looked like baked potatoes when they came out) which mildly perturbs my sister and sends them into a fit of giggles every time, in no small part due to the fact that it makes their mom all huffy.”

“Making fun of small children with lovingly derisive names is a time-honored tradition.”

“NTA, OP, that’s some top-tier uncle s**t.” – FarFlungGator

“NTA.”

“(Shrugs) I called my nephew ‘Big Head Alien Baby’ for most of the first two years of his life. My mother was incensed, and my sister, AKA: the kid’s mother, just rolled her eyes.”

“Now my sister has three kids and they are The Kid, The Girl Child, and The Littlest LastNameHere. My mother is still offended on their behalf, my sister still doesn’t care, and the kids respond to it exactly like they do their actual names.”

“Come to think of it, I also call them gremlins, weasels, and tiny humans. None of which causes anything other than giggles or eye rolls. It really isn’t that serious.” – Lessa22

Others agreed but advised being mindful of the sister’s feelings.

“NAH. The kids don’t know what it means. And you say it with love, so I think you’re okay. Your sister now knows and doesn’t like it, so if you continue to do it, then you’ll be TA.”

“I call my 3-year-old nephew a ‘punk baby’ to his face (with love). When he does something mischievous, he looks at me and says proudly, ‘I’m a punk baby!'” – WaywardPrincess1025

“NTA. Isn’t this the point of having nieces and nephews? Lol (laughing out loud), I have kids all under 5, and they are all insane and little narcissists. Good thing they are cute!”

“The only thing I can think about your sister is that the poor thing is too tired and sleep-deprived to see the humor in anything. Cut her some slack. I wanted to murder anyone having fun in those early days.” – Hot_Mycologist_3561

“This title made me crack up, and I would say NTA, but you will be TA if you continue on once she’s said this upsets her.”

“Being pregnant is stressful enough, if this is upsetting her right now, you should stop for now. She may see the funnier side of it later on, (much later on).” – isawthesky

“Goodness… NTA.”

“They’re kids, they’re gonna be utter little heathens. You’re not calling them anything inappropriate! Just ‘Children of the Corn.’ I’m sure the kids at least know that you’re joking!”

“I call my cousins and most little kids related to me ‘little hellspawn,’ but I still love the kids dearly.”

“Honestly, it’s most likely just emotions on your sister’s part. Pregnancy does that.” – Pawziplier

“NTA.”

“LOL (laughing out loud), it’s not that serious. You’re not an AH for calling them that, I’m sure there are millions of family members who have weird nicknames for the kids in their family.”

“Since the kids are that young, it also makes sense, they’re called the ‘terrible twos’ for a reason.”

“That said, she’s pregnant. I’d hold off on calling them that and talk with her about it. Just let her know you have no ill intentions and that it’s just a silly nickname because you know, the ‘terrible twos.'” – GeneNeat906

“I vote NTA, because I call my niece and nephew ‘The Gremlins’ (I saw that movie when I was a little too young and had nightmares for years).”

“That said, I haven’t seen ‘Children of the Corn.’ Is there any murder in it? If your sister hates the film, I can understand why she might only see the name as a negative label rather than a bit of a joke.” – Tattedtail

“NTA.”

“My nephews were Baby Blizzard and Tiny Tornado. Another one is Cheeseball.”

“But really, pregnant women really don’t have much of a sense of humor, between hormones, a baby dancing on your bladder, being sick, and cankles, it’s no longer fun and games like it was making them.” – StormyMcGee68

“YTA but it’s funny (when the kids aren’t yours).”

“If your sister has no sense of humor (which it seems she doesn’t because her kids are probably ‘perfect’), then you should definitely stop.”

“‘Ana-maniacs’ might be an okay replacement, but if she has no sense of humor then… you may have to just think it (instead of saying it).” – Ok_Professiona_4499

“Bad advice time: make you and them corncob costumes from tissue paper and yarn, and do a fun photo shoot.”

“Frame the photos as a gift to her, and caption it, ‘Can’t Wait for the Baby Corn/Lil Niblet.'” – Ph0enix_Falling

The subReddit not only didn’t see anything wrong with the nickname the OP had given his niece and nephew, but they actually found it funny.

The only catch was how his sister, and potentially the kids, felt about the arrangement. As long as everyone was comfortable with the name, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Written by McKenzie Lynn Tozan

McKenzie Lynn Tozan has been a part of the George Takei family since 2019 when she wrote some of her favorite early pieces: Sesame Street introducing its first character who lived in foster care and Bruce Willis delivering a not-so-Die-Hard opening pitch at a Phillies game. She's gone on to write nearly 3,000 viral and trending stories for George Takei, Comic Sands, Percolately, and ÜberFacts. With an unstoppable love for the written word, she's also an avid reader, poet, and indie novelist.