Choosing A Name For Your Baby
Choosing a baby name is a very difficult task. Essentially, you are picking a name that your child has to live with, and even though you are selecting a name that you happen to like, you obviously want your child to love the name too. In many cases, however, both parents have their own ideas for names, and this just makes the final decision making process even more difficult. If each parent is adamant, then choosing baby names can cause serious contention between parents. However, there are ways in which you can tone down the dispute and make a choice that you both can live with. But it requires some individual contemplation by each parent prior to coming together and making a final choice. Consider these following factors before fighting to the death for your chosen name.
How Important is the Name To You
This is the ultimate question. How important is the name to you versus your spouse? If a name is more important to one party than it is to the other, then the person who cares the most should select the name. Of course this requires much honesty. Don't just say it's important to you because you want to win the argument. It has to be legitimately important for some reason or other, and the other parent should recognize this and give up the fight.
What is the Reasoning Behind the Name?
Understanding the reasoning behind a chosen name can also determine its worth. For example, assuming one parent had a grandparent who he or she adored and wished to name their child after, while the other parent picked a name he or she found in a baby name book, then the former reasoning holds more weight. This also goes back to the question of how important the name is to you, but in this case, the relevance of the name is considered, not just the question of who loves their name more.
Exclude Everyone Else from Choosing a Baby Name
Oftentimes parents are influenced by family members when they select a specific name, but you cannot allow others to push you into choosing a name for your baby. By doing this, you are basically choosing a family member's name choice over your spouse's. At the end of the day, you and your spouse should make the final decision, so unless you agree 100% with the family member's name idea, don't make it your choice. Your mother or father may be hurt by your disregard of their suggestion, but they will have to deal with that. They had their chance at choosing baby names when they had their own children, now it is you and your spouse's turn. Of course you can consider other family ideas, but the ultimate decision needs to be yours.
Can You Reach a Compromise?
If both parents have a name choice that they are adamant about and the reasons behind each name are equally legitimate, then a compromise is in order. That is the only way to choose a name in such a situation. Consider the option of one name being the child's first and the other the middle? Can the two names be hyphenated without sounding pretentious or wacky? Can one name be used for this child and the other reserved for a future child? Any one of these options is possible. If a compromise is the only option, then remember that bringing up baby will be full of compromises, so you might as well be willing to start now. And if all else fails, give up the fight for love.
© 2013
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