by Jennifer Watson

Created on: July 27, 2010

Working in a school with children that range in the four to nine year age range has shown me just how strange or "unique" names can affect a child. If the name is hard to spell or pronounce it causes many problems for young children in particular. One of my pet peeves when it comes to names is when a parent names their child a normal sounding name but choose to give it an odd spelling. This is confusing for teachers, other adults and the child. Some parents can get really hostile when you call their child by the wrong name, even if the spelling is just something they made up. A name as simple as Sue can be a problem if the parent chooses to spell it Sou.

It is also not a great idea to give a male child a feminine sounding name. This will lead to a lot of teasing on the part of his classmates. Some of the examples I have seen include Candlelaro, Paige, and Cadence. The first one was quickly changed to Candy by the child's classmates, just the type of name a teenage boy is gonna want when he reaches high school and maybe wants to go out for the football team. Imagine a quarterback named Candy! Girls can somewhat unfairly get away with some masculine names because people think they are cute. Charlie, Jessie, Sam (short for Samantha) and Reagan are just a few of these. However there is a limit to how far this should be taken. For instance an older female acquaintance of mine is named Gilmer because her father insisted that she be given his name. School must have been a nightmare.

Save any strange or unusual names for the middle name if they must absolutely be used. At least they will usually remain secret unless the child wants others to know. My own middle name is so unusual that I have never met anyone else with the same name. Most people however do not know that.

Parents should try to avoid long unpronounceable names. This is a problem for teachers, the child and other children to say or spell. Oddly enough it is my experience that most parents really get upset when everyone else doesn't know what is is. They need to understand that if they want their child's name to be special or unique it may make learning to spell or write the name difficult for the child.

Never give your child any name that has even the remotest possibility of becoming associated to a body function or an animal. This is just asking for trouble.Save the unique names for nicknames . Your child will appreciate this in the long run.

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