student asking question

I suppose that there's only one mom and dad in a family. Why would they mention it in plurals?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Mums and dads" is not actually a term particular to this situation, its the name of a common children's game where children pretend to be a "mum" or "dad." It isn't actually related to playing multiple roles, it's simply the name of the game itself. In the UK it is referred to as playing "mums and dads," whereas in countries like America or Canada, it's called playing "house." Ex: My daughter likes to play house with her dolls. Ex: My students prefer playing video games over mums and dads.

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