Naming baby is the first big decision a parent makes for their child. The word will follow their kiddo for the rest of his or her life, but it's not something that moms and dads need to fret about. It's fun! We've rounded up our hottest tips and conversation topics to give you the complete guide to baby naming.
Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Betsy Shaw about the perils of calling your kid "Buddy."
An article in the Sunday New York Times subjects the newish tendency for parents to refer to their children as "Buddy" to some seriously analytical scrutiny.
Where once fathers were hard-pressed to use any name more personal than "Son" when addressing their male offspring, shout the name "Buddy" at a random playground today, and you might turn quite a few little heads.
Related: Why Do Girlish Boys Bother Us More Than Boyish Girls?
But it's not just fathers who use the pet name Buddy, which some psychologists find to be indicative of a problematic change in parent-child relations. Mothers use it, too. I’d be willing to guess it’s a name most often reserved for boy children, but the article never comes out and says this. One theory, posed by a stay-at-home dad, sees the easy use of the name Buddy as a sign that dads are more involved with and, in turn more comfortable with, their kids.
While Buddy sounds benign, it does carry with it the direct association with close, mutual friendship. And that, according to the article, makes some parenting experts nervous.
"Having rejected the authoritarian parenting style that many of them grew up with, American parents today prefer to give their children the opportunity to prove themselves as equals almost from birth, to make those 'good choices' that preclude the need for punishment. 'Buddy Parenting' is one of the seven deadly parenting styles that the psychologist Michele Borba wrote about in a 2009 book, The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries."
I’ve got a few nicknames for my daughters: "Sweet," "Honey," "Little Sack of Sugar," and other unoriginal monikers that conjure up visions of edible treats. Buddy has never occurred to me. It’s also never occurred to me until this very second, that all these edible nicknames, when analyzed, put me in a position of power. "I could eat you, you know."
If I had a son, would I call him Buddy? I kind of doubt it, only because I had an adult acquaintance who overused that name so freely, and without any consideration for social boundaries, it has formally been entered into my most-annoying-pet-names book.
My husband, a stoic Brit, never uses common terms of affection. The occasional "Possum" escapes him when he's off his guard. He cringes visibly when I call him or the children "Honey."
While Buddy isn't a name I would use on my kids, I hesitate to see it as an indication that parents are so hard up for approval, and friendship, they're trying to get it from their kids.
It's an easy pet name. That's all.
What do you think of the pet name "Buddy"? Do you think it's any different, better, or worse than other nicknames? Do you use it?
More great reads from BabyCenter:
New morning sickness cure: oral sex?
London, India, Egypt: do you love place-inspired baby names?
A story of natural childbirth
What your diaper bag says about you
Seven adorable gender-reveal baby showers
Grandma, Mimi, Grammy? Most grandparents don't care what their grandkids call them, just as long as they actually call them! In Hollywood, where age and image are the name of the game, some grandparents put in special requests when it comes to their nickname. See if you can match the name with the celeb grandparents in our lil quiz here! Good luck!
Jack is the new John and Jenny and Penny aren't always short for Jennifer and Penelope anymore. People who prefer names that were once considered "nicknames" have tossed tradition and given their babes the short version. Some moms and pops think it's pointless to put a formal name on a birth certificate and never use it, while other parents like the option. What's your opinion?
Pass on "peanut," there are more inventive nicknames of the edible variety! This morning on Today, Sandra Bullock was glowing when she called Louis, her New Orleans-born babe, a "little Cajun cookie." A while back, Bethenny Frankel referred to her daughter Bryn as a "chickpea" and compared the swaddled preemie to a spring roll. Food nicknames have long been used to describe wee ones, from "sweet pea" to "chili pepper" and "jumping bean" to "cupcake"; what delicious nicknames do you have for your children?
Parents carefully choose their child's name, but that doesn't mean people will call the kid it. Nicknames are invented everywhere from the delivery room to the schoolyard by friends, strangers, and foes. For better or worse, monikers are created because of the way youngsters look and act or situations they end up in. And sometimes, the title is altogether random. There are moms and dads who try to stop the practice before it begins by requesting people call their children by their given names. What's your opinion?
Mommy Dearest,
My husband and I put a lot of time into choosing our children's names. We have two boys: Matthew, 3, and August, who is 3 months old. We named our younger son for the month he was born and my in-laws have made it clear that they are not fans of the choice. That doesn't bother me, but the fact that they only refer to our baby by his middle name does. If we wanted his name to be Michael, we would have put that first on the birth certificate. What's more annoying is the fact that it is confusing our older son. Matthew doesn't understand why Grammy and Papa call August "Michael." How can I tell my in-laws to knock it off?
– Annoyed With In-Laws' Nickname
To see the response from Mommy Dearest, read more
Calling your significant other by a pet name is a cute term of endearment, but it makes my skin crawl when a guy calls me hot stuff, sweetie, darling, or baby when we're not in a relationship! I'm sure they mean no harm by it, but when they reuse those nicknames with more than one woman at a time, they lose their value and become way too contrived. Of course, this is just my opinion so tell me where you stand on men that aren't your boyfriends calling you pet names. Does it make you feel special or do you find it way too phony and cheesy?
Now that I know most of you use slang names for your lady business and your guy's business, I want to know if any of you take it to another level. I have heard some couples that use proper names when referring to the woman's breasts and the man's penis, so ladies, do tell: When you are in a relationship do you have pet names for each other's privates?
Ever since I asked you guys what you call your lady business, Oprah's favorite term, "va-jay-jay," just keeps getting trendier, as evidenced by this recent article in the New York Times! Now that va-jay-jay is so popular, I want to know what you think of the term.
