The Thing You Do That May Change The Course Of Your Child’s Life

Anybody got a idea what I'm talking about?  There is something that all parents do, sometimes even before kids are born, that for many kids sets the entire course of their lives. Are you ready? It's the name you give them.

I am NOT a fan of out of the ordinary names. That goes for oddly spelled names as well.  Some of you think that it sets your kid out as unique and an individual, but no, it just ends up being a pain in the ass for most of them.

This blog is actually a repeat of something that was on my personal blog. It struck such a chord that I thought I'd bring it back here.  My name may not seem that out of the ordinary (Wes, or Wesley is my real name...only the last name is fake), but it was.  So when I was a kid, I would go to those kiosks at Disneyland and look through hundreds of hundreds of name plates for bedrooms and bikes, only to come up empty every time. It used to seriously bum me out and make me feel like an outcast or oddball. I've never really cared for my name for that reason and usually respond to "Nessman" or better yet "Pops" (usually used by the kids at Nightmare On 19th Street.

Being completely honest here, it seems like it started out being an African-American thing. Some parents started trying to reflect their heritage and others just seemed to be throwing syllables together.  Now, it seems that geek culture has started influencing the names and even spelling of names. Now we have "Q's" replacing "K's" in names and people who seem to be named after characters, planets or lands in Star Wars or Lord Of The Rings. All in all, it seems that everybody is starting to get in on the wacky name game.

Sure it's a little thing to have an oddball name, but it is bothersome. Don't forget Johnny Cash's song "A Boy Named Sue" in which a father names his son "Sue" because he knows that the kid will have to grow up mean to survive. I'm a firm believer that your name can influence or even dictate your future. You kid may end up stronger for having a weird name, but they may also have a harder time because of it.  Just remember that when you you give your kid an oddball name.