Referring to Parents

One of the things that all writers struggle with is figuring out exactly what to call the main character’s parents.  I usually go with Mom and Dad unless I’m writing a fantasy and then I go with the local equivalent.  But I recently ran across a great explanation on Orson Scott Card’s website on exactly why this is a good choice.  It has to do with maintaining a tight third person point of view, but I encourage any writer  who has struggled with this to check out this award-winning author’s website.