Should the word "mum" be capitalised sometimes, for example when it is being used in place of the person's name?

Amanda Greenslade of  www.GreensladeCreations.com asked the question,  Should the word "mum" be capitalised sometimes, for example when it is being used in place of the person's name?

I passed the question onto Renée Purdie of www.RisingStarDesigns.com.au who was happy to help and provided the following answer.

If you can substitute a real name in the sentence, you need a capital letter.

For example, in the sentence, ‘Tell Mum I won’t be home for dinner’, Mum is used as a name so you must capitalise it.

If you were saying, ‘My mum always told me never to be late for dinner’, you wouldn’t say, ‘My Clara always told me never to be late for dinner’, so it should not be capitalised.

Thanks to Amanda for the question and Renée for providing an answer.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au