How to call a baby?

A woman was surprised that I call a baby "it". Why?

Women tend to think about babies as persons; therefore he or she would be apropriate.

Though calling babies "it" is not necessarily wrong....

It's wrong! You must ask if it's a boy or a girl if you're not sure, but never call it it.

You just called it "it" yourself. Was that intentional?

<It's wrong! You must ask if it's a boy or a girl if you're not sure, but never call it it. >

You're wrong. For example, if you don't know the sex of and unborn child, what would you call that child?

Another person has told me it's ok, for example, if you hate the babies and think of as little horrids. That is my case, so I will follow this advice.

It's quite simple...you can't refer to a human being as "it" in the English language whether it's a baby or not. Forget about the sensitivities of the mother, it's just simply grammatically incorrect.

<Another person has told me it's ok, for example, if you hate the babies and think of as little horrids. That is my case, so I will follow this advice. >

Good advice. In fact, my mother-in-law sometimes refers to me as "it" whenever she's angry with me.

;-)

<It's quite simple...you can't refer to a human being as "it" in the English language whether it's a baby or not. Forget about the sensitivities of the mother, it's just simply grammatically incorrect. >

It's obvious that you are not a native speaker.

I've seen babies referred to as "it", but it may be inappropriate if the sex of the baby is known. The same applies to animals, but to a lesser degree, since they're not human. It probably wouldn't be wise to refer a woman's own child as "it", even if you don't know the baby's sex.

- Kef

If the sex of the baby is known, "it" would sound somewhat disrespectful. This can also be the case with pets... I get irritated when people refer to my chinchilla (HE is awesome) as an "it". I give people three strikes, then I sick him on the perpetrator.

If you're talking about a baby in general, using "it" is fine and grammatically correct and in common practice, even if you don't notice it. As for an older human, that is different.

To clarify, I mean "babies in general."

<As for an older human, that is different. >

I dunno, Benny, each time you post I say "It has submerged".