Hi Jason, My Name is Jennipher

Sigh.

So I took Andrew, Charlotte and Joshua to our local community centre this morning. Charlotte had a preschool ballet class, and the boys and I went and hung out in the library. Our community centre ROCKS.

Anyway, not the point.

As we were leaving this morning, I saw one of the leaders from another class stop a mom to ask if she'd left something behind. That was what got my attention, initially. Instinctively I looked at her daughter. Very cute kid. Nametag on. "Quynn."

WHY?

I mean, I know that everyone has different tastes in names, and there will be those who think that our taste is boring (we usually get "classic", but I'm sure for some that's a code word). You want to name your kid "Pilot Inspektor", well, that's your prerogative, but seriously, WHY?

Do people actually picture this little baby as an adult when they're naming them? It seems to be something we all find funny, to humiliate babies: we put them in little sailor suits, or little snowsuits that make them look like Winnie the Pooh. And why not? It's cute, and it's not like they can object.

A name is something different. That cute little baby in the cat ears hat will eventually grow up to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or a sanitation engineer, and they may not exactly suit "Tinkerbell" or "Qwerty" at that point.

But what about the strange spellings? The names are still the same, so what's the big deal, right? What I want to know, though, is WHY? All you're accomplishing is making yourself look like you can't spell and sentencing your child to a lifetime of "No, you spell it A-N-D-R-U."

I know, there are people who will disagree with me strongly. They feel that their child should stand out from the pack. They don't want their daughter to be one of "the three Emmas" (which is the case in my daughter, Emma's, class). I can understand that. I hadn't intended to name Emma the most popular girl's name around. It's not my fault that "Rachel" named her daughter Emma right after my daughter was born. At the same time, I never have to worry about her not being able to find things with her name on it. "McKynzye" might not be so lucky.

Naming your kids is one of the biggest privileges of being a parent. All I'm saying is take a moment and picture your child in the nursing home 80 or 90 years from now, and ask if "Jewelia" will still appreciate their unique name!