I regularly see films, books, stories and other English usages in which a person uses the term "son" where one might normally use a name. Usually, it's a father and they're portrayed in a reasonably good relationship with their teenage or adult child:

> 
> “How was breakfast, son?”
> 
> 
> 

I would expect a close family member to use the first name instead (not “How was school, daughter?” or “How was work, son?”, but “How was breakfast, Alan?” or “Are you okay, Joe?”)

I'm excluding uses of “son” where it's widely used in the UK, such as for emphasis ("Listen, son!") or other proper nouns such as "Father" used as an honorific.

I've never heard a person actually use “son” as one might use a name, but it seems quite widely used in English writing and scripts. Maybe it's a UK/US difference or present in some subcultures and not in others?

Can anyone shed light on whether this is actual usage, or just a writer's trope?