is that most kids are taught to respond "yes ma'am/sir" or "no ma'am/sir which drove me nuts for awhile. That and referring to adults as Ms. "Jane" for example my kids's friends. Hell, I don't care if they call me by my first name!
I was stern on manners and hand washing but was fine with "Please may I have/thank you/you're welcome, which my kids are impeccable about.
We didn't have them when we first moved here so when the kids who bagged my groceries called me ma'am it weirded me out and made me feel old.
Last year my son had his first male teacher who was a great guy but really enforced the "yes sir" but I didn't care that much as my son loved him and like I said...great teacher.
Pretty sure my kids use it in school as it's standard practice, but when my son wants to push my buttons (for instance if I ask him if he completed his homework) he'll respond "yes ma'am" because he knows it bugs me. 
It's not the worst thing in the world and I don't want to come across as insulting to Southerners...it was just hard to adapt to coming from NE.
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