Rachael Ray: Rachael's Daytime Talkshow

Who's Right?

Who's Right?
Who's Right?

It's friend vs. friend and brother against sister in two intense arguments. Should children call adults by their first name or should they call them "Mr." and "Mrs."? And should you fry or bake meatballs? Rachael attempts to give them all an answer everyone can live with.

How should children address adults?

Shannon believes children should address all adults by "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms.": "That's the way I was raised, I think respect and manners go hand-in-hand. You wouldn't call a doctor anything but "Dr." As an adult, you're a parent, you're a mentor, you're a teacher. You're not a friend."

Sherry thinks calling someone Mr. or Mrs. is outdated: "If a child is familiar with the adult, they should feel comfortable using their first name. It's not an issue of being polite, it's a question of familiarity. It puts up a barrier to use the formal title. And it implies age-ism, that they're old. It makes me feel old if a child calls me 'Mrs.'"

Life coach Harriette Cole sides with Shannon: "I think that children need to understand respect and boundaries when it comes to adults so they should call adults Mr., Mrs. or Ms." But she does leave some wiggle room. "We live in a culture where adults like to be called by their first name so you can decide on a one-on-one basis what you think will work. If your child meets an adult who tells them, 'call me Andrew,' you need to meet Andrew and find out if you're comfortable with that level of familiarity. Otherwise, tell your child, 'That's Mr. Andrew, or that's Mr. Smith' and leave it at that."

Are meatballs better fried or baked?

This brother likes his meatballs fried: "I think the taste is better if you put 'em in extra-virgin olive oil and fry 'em. Frying them makes them nice and hard."

This sister bakes her meatballs: "I think it's a little healthier to bake them. It's faster, you take 20 meatballs, throw them in the oven and it's done."

Rachael takes on this food question herself: "In the pan, you can get some ripping and tearing, and the meatballs can actually lose themselves a little bit on the bottom ... Baking, I love it. I only do my meatballs two ways and neither of them is fried. I like crispy balls so I put them in the oven and roast them all the way around. My husband prefers them cooked like dumplings: Roll them, drop them right into the sauce. I think any way is OK as long as it makes your stomach happy!"

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