Well, technically you are correct.  They are half-siblings.

Why are people correcting you?

I think it’s rude for people to correct you. This is *your* family, how you wish to define things is up to you. And, as tog said, you’re technically correct. 

When your child is older they’ll be able to decide for themselves whether they call their brothers/sisters full or half siblings. It’s nobody else’s business

My SS-26 has three younger half sibs by his idiot father and two other baby mamas. 

No, you are not wrong. However, your child may not consider that differentiation when he/she grows up.  I  have never heard my son refer to  his half sibs as half sibs. They are just his sister and brothers.

While you may want to broadcast that your DH's prior relationship children are not your child's full siblings, your child may have other ideas on the subject down the road.

Rather than refering to them as your child's half sibs, how about just referring to them as your step kids. Same message, different focus.

I hate when people do this. Especially saying "daughter" after I say stepdaughter. It's what the relationship is and it makes it much less confusing to say that outright then have to go back and explain why your brother/SD whoever is at a parents house that you have no relation to. IMO people making it taboo to say half or step anything makes it seem like there is something wrong with having a blended family...why is it so terrible that we cant even acknowledge the relationship?

I do kind of see how a child might feel not great about being referred to as a "half" something.  There are ways of conveying your point without making them feel like they belong in the family any "less" (even if YOU would prefer they weren't in it lol).

This is our son SS and my stepkids 1 and 2. 

Alternately.. just introduce them by their names.. and call them brothers/sisters.  Honestly most people you don't know well.. don't need to know the fine tuning of it and anyone who should know you that well.. well.. they probably already know  the deal.

My SO has a half-sister.  He refers to his stepmom as his stepmom, and to his step-siblings as step-brother and step-sister, but he always calls his half-sister his sister.  BM has 2 half-siblings and she has never referred to them as other than brother and sister (nor has anyone else that I've ever heard), and for a long time I didn't even realize they weren't full siblings.  I think a lot of people do not make the distinction and don't want to.

However, I think it is rude and insensitive of people to comment on your choice of how to refer to your child's half-sibs.

theres plenty in this world that divides us, why use words to try and drive a wedge between siblings. In the end, siblings are all we have. Parents die, kids grow up and leave, spouses can come and go. Siblings and cousins are your village.

It really depends on the siblings on whether there is a close bond.   I know of many families where the now grown children of a second marriage have virtually no relationship with their older half siblings from a previous marriage.  And none of the siblings are bad people that a sane person would want to avoid.  There just is no bond there.  There’s no hate or animosity - just nothing  

The half siblings in those cases are more likely to think of their halfs as “my parent’s children from another marriage” than as a brother or sister. 

Reading the comments I realize how much I try to keep the distance from my husbands kids. I never say “my baby’s half-brother and sister” or not “my step kids” I always say “my husbands’s kids”...I just don’t like saying that because I don’t feel like that. We got a bunch of “little brother” onsies and guess what...I have never put them on my son. I just automatically don’t. 

Once the 8 year old SS was telling his uncle that he has 4 grandpas and 3 grandmas. Because bm tells them that all the wives/husbands are grandma/grandpa. I won’t do that. My baby has only 1 grandpa and 2 grandmas. DH’s dad and stepdad both are not eligible to be called such in my eyes.  

Yes technically they are half siblings. I get it, my husband and I have a daughter together and he has an adult daughter from another relationship. I'm just too lazy to say "half sister " everytime , so I just refer to her as a sister. It's all semantics. 

You are not in the wrong if that's what you prefer. That is what you prefer, no one can tell you otherwise.

I have a herd of kids from my 1st marriage and one from the 2nd. All the kids refer to each other as siblings there is no half. The older ones adore their younger brother and the youngest is always talking about his older siblings.  I feel the same way as SonOfA... when I'm gone they'll have each other.  Divorce and drama has been hard enough on all of them and in my mind there is no need to make things more complicated.  2nd exH on the other hand for awhile referred to my older children as the youngest one's "step siblings" and he was trying to get him to call me by my first name instead of mom.  He's a true narchole and that's why we're not married anymore.  

On the other hand I don't refer to DH's kids as my stepsons or my kids stepbrothers but DH's sons/grandsons.  We all came into each others lives late in the game so I've never pushed any kind of relationship bond between any of them.  

Your children may grow up and feel differently about the labels than you do.  I have half siblings, we never grew up together but we have a great bond today. We are sisters.  

What is with the morality police telling people what they should and should not say all the time?  If a child only shares one parent then they are half-siblings.  Fact.  Just like your dog is your dog and not your cat even if the lady down the street insists on scratching him under chin and calling him kitty-kitty.  Sure, it would be great if everyone related by blood or marriage could always be family.  But I think the existence of this blog shows that does not happen.  People need to get over the difference between "how things are" and "how things should be" and mind their own business.

Since our children are all grown, we usually say we have 3 children and let it go with no further explanation.  However, people who knew my DH and his wife before seem to want to differentiate between by saying “the youngest is your child right?”.   I usually smile and in my head say “bless your heart”....and change the subject.  If we don’t want to differentiate why do others?  I think it is rude....

While in reality children who don't share both parents are "half" siblings, it is a choice how you see it and what we call that relationship...  There is no right or wrong answer and it is definitely your choice.

My son has a half sibling from his dad and his first wife.  I didn't like the term "half sister" I always just said she is his sister.  When someone took it further by saying something like "Oh I didn't know you had a daughter I would say I don't and explain who she is and how she fits in .  This was how I felt but it sure doesn't make how you feel wrong.  It is a very personal thing and up to those involved to determine.  

Don't worry about the label.  If it important to you to keep them separate that's fine, but just realize that they are related to the baby. My older brother is my half brother, but i only ever refer to him as my brother.  I love him no more/ less than my full siblings. 

My DD has 3 siblings. Her dads and SM kids. Never ever she or they refer to anyone as “half”. Yes you are in the wrong here. 

My kids have SS as their half brother. I do not encourage nor discourage a relationship however he has shown himself to be jealous and aggressive therefore I do not ever leave them unsupervised or plan outings for the three of them, only my two. He is being raised very differently than my two. I don’t want his nasty entitled influence on them . Also we are long distance. The truth is the truth- they only share one parent.

I have three “half” siblings. One older brother from my BM and two younger from my BF. I love them all to pieces and I would never ever ever dream of seeing them as “half”. They have always and will continue to be my sister and brothers. Nothing less and I used to get angry as a kid when people referred to us as “half”. Just because biology determines it that, I never saw us as less than full siblings. 

I believe your child should be able to determine the difference when they are older. It is something I will do when BF and I have kids. 

I've been thinking about this one a lot! DH and I are expecting in April. SD10 calls me by my first name. I'm sure when our child grows older they will ask "Why does SD call you ____?" Or simply, "Where do they go this week?" Explaining how SD has a different mom, in turn making her a "half-sister" 

SD10 also has a half-brother on her BM side of the family. He's 16. DH has never pushed the "brother" title to ____ because he is a complete POS teenager.

I don't think the term "half" is demeaning. It's facts. Just as when people used to ask DH and I "do you both have kids?" I would say, "No, but I have a step-daughter." Or "No, but DH has a child from a previous marriage." I felt it was appropriate since, at the time, we didn't have kids TOGETHER. Big difference. 

No, you are not in the wrong. I have three sisters and two half brothers myself. We were raised differently by different mothers in different houses. It seems weird to me when people insist half siblings not be referred to as half siblings because it's denying one of their parents. Something I've noticed is people who tend to insist on not using the term half are parents who have a child with more than one person.  Just an observation.

Well I can give alot of perspective on this. My whole family is huge blended mix. My mom is the only child of my grandparents but both had kids from previous relationships. They divorced eventually and my mom grew up with two of the siblings. SHe has never referred to them as half. In fact her and my Aunt are extremely close. That same Aunt and I are super close as well. I have never thought of her as a half aunt.

I also have a half brother who I did not grow up with that is 15 years younger than me. I have said half brother as people get confused at times when I talk about him. Mostly I refer to him as my brother. He is my brother. I have an older brother who we share the same parents.

I would say if my mom always pointed out to me that it was my half brother, I can say I think that would have caused issues with all of us. My dad and my stepmom never referred to me or my older brother or my younger stepsister as his half siblings. I get there are differences but what is truly the point in making it evidently clear to the children. What does you DH think about you putting your skid in thier place around other people.

I am also expecting and have my DS 11. In case you never read my stuff he was my skid but I adopted him. Technically they will be half siblings but they will be brothers and I will never use that term unless he asks me to explain how it all works biologically. I know it is not the same but I also know if my DS11 heard me say that ever it would hurt him. Kids are a lot more sensitive to things adults say than we realize. I am sorry I think by pointing it out and making it clear all the time that they are not full siblings you are saying in a way your daddy, me and this baby are full family. Kids can take it this way. I would be careful with the words you are using and maybe ask yourself why you really feel the need to point it out instead of just going with the flow. They are siblings.

I think it really depends on the situation if my husband was talking about his kids he would just refer to them as sisters because they're both his kids. I would personally refer to them as my daughter and step-daughter because it's important for me to make it clear which one is this my child. It's not so much that I reject her it's more that I feel it at disingenuine to pretend that she is my daughter when she isnt. if it's a stranger then it doesn't really matter to correct them but anyone who actually knows us better I think it is fine to specify daughter versus stepdaughter.

The term half sibling it does have stigma so I would choose to say the same information in a different way. Like calling them step daughter rather than daughter. Or you can just refer to yourself as the Stepmom that way it doesn't seem as though you are rejecting the child from their perspective.

My DD has three siblings. Never no one calls them half. Just her brothers and a sister 

SD10 always introduces me as Step-Mom. Never Bonus Mom. Her and her BM have made it very clear that I am a "step." DH tries to soften the blow and encourage "bonus"... but usually only if we are in an awkward social situation... My questions is: Why is there be a double standard and Step-Moms 'should' refrain from saying "half"? Call a spade a spade. 

My Ex-husband had a child in his second marriage.  Technically she is my son's half sister, however I never say that or allow anyone else to say it around me on my side of the family when she is around at my house. 

To me the relationship doesn't need to be defined and I think when people do define it degrades it or devalues it.  Almost like it isn't as important or as real as a full sibling.  I guess I can understand why some might not want someone to think they are the mother of their step-kids but everyone you run into in the grocery store doesn't need to know.  Those that have monumental places in your life know who gave birth to who and that is all that should matter.  

Think how it may make the child feel.  Second, not as good as.  I mean really how would you feel if every time someone mentioned your relationship someone spoke up and corrected them almost to make sure they were not claiming ownership to a relationship with you.  To me Step and Half while are dirty terms while they are the reality of the relationship is legally they really are unflattering definitions to relationships. 

IMHO it is a matter of quality.  People earn how they are referred to.  Nasty spawn are nasty spawn even to their bio parents though few BPs are capable of accurately labeling their own spawn as nasty.  
 

The same applies to idiot parents.  Regardless if the prefix they applies.

My nephew has had 2 stepsisters since he was about 8 (he's now 30) and he has always called them "my sisters".