Kids name-JAWM

[GWOB]

Bless her heart;).

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I totally AWY. I love your response. I can never think of anything beyond, "WHAT?! :eek:" in those kinds of scenarios. Good for you!

[Kathryn]

For once I can post in a JAWM thread. Yes, she was super rude.

 

:iagree:

[elegantlion]

Rude, rude, rude. Not everyone wants their children to have a blingy name.

 

I'll admit my son's name would not have been high on my list. It's common and I like more original names. However, dh and I decided long before we were married that a son would be named for dh's late father. I afraid if someone commented on the commonness of my son's name, they'd have to sit through the entire looonnnng story of why he is named that, at a loud volume too.

 

Perhaps that person will know better next time. Perhaps. :glare:

[TheApprentice]

Totally agreeing with you. I need to learn to be just as quick.

[Ellie]

:blink: :ohmy: :ack2:

 

Uh, yeah, rude. Her mother must be devastated that her child has such poor manners.

 

:grouphug:

[MrsBasil]

Thanks everyone! I'm laughing about it now.

 

Not just rude, but wrong. Original and Kreeyative names are so 2000's. Normal is back.

 

I recently met a young mom who'd named her son William, and the parents called him Billy. I wanted to fall down at her feet in homage.

 

I have a different nickname for my guy. :)

 

That is beyond rude and falls into the gobsmacked category. I don't know that I wouldn't still be standing there dumbstruck by such a comment.

 

Please tell me she was young and didn't have children of her own.

 

She didn't have any with her and I'm a horrible judge of age. Late 20s, early 30s would be my guess.

[Impish]

Wow. How arrogant of her!

[Tammyla]

:iagree::001_smile::iagree:

 

I'm tickled you let her know she was rude.:D

[In the Rain]

Um, yeah. She was REALLY rude. :001_huh:

 

FWIW, most "boring" names are probably more properly called "traditional" or "classic" names. :001_smile:

[RoughCollie]

Yes, she was rude.

 

My kids have traditional names -- I call them white bread names. That is thanks to DH. I wanted to name them interesting names, like Soaring Eagle or January Skye.

 

The kids are glad DH is a stick in the mud. :D

[Meriwether]

Yes, she was rude.

 

My kids have traditional names -- I call them white bread names. That is thanks to DH. I wanted to name them interesting names, like Soaring Eagle or January Skye.

 

The kids are glad DH is a stick in the mud. :D

 

But with triplets you could have had so much fun with interesting names.:D

 

The only person I would analyze names with is my sister. I helped her choose a fairly odd name for her fourth boy. The whole family looked like this:001_huh: when she mentioned a possibility for son #5. But she's my sister. and if she had decided to give him an obscure, foot-long Biblical name, we'd have loved the kid anyhow and gotten used to the name. I would never say anything to anyone else.

[caroljenn]

Good God! People can be so rude- it's amazing. What a complete horse's behind that woman was.

 

I do think its part of the disrespect for others our culture has today. In our me, me, me world, I'm not surprised that someone can be so stupidly rude.

[Truscifi]

I completely JAWY.

[Mommyof4ks]

Wow, she can say what she thinks if you ask, but that was totally rude to just say that without a question. It seems people think their opinions need to be voiced when thinking it would suffice. Maybe next time she thinks about some thing she will keep it to herself. :glare:

[happi duck]

You're my hero! I never can say things in the moment.

 

She was very rude!

[NorthwestMom]

Sometimes people need direct feedback on their social skills. :) I do agree with you!

[bobbeym]

WOW. :iagree:that person was horribly rude!

 

I think I'd have just been :001_huh: if someone every said that to me. All of my kids have classic, traditional names and none of them have ever complained about them.

 

DS18 does have some odd names picked out for his future DDs but DIL has said no way.

[Galatea]

Wow. Honestly, that's beyond rude. Good for you for calling her out on her bad manners.

[justLisa]

I think it is both funny and awesome how blatantly you told her she was rude.

[PeacefulChaos]

Seriously?! I can't believe anyone would say that!

Totally rude...

[momto2Cs]

For once I can post in a JAWM thread. Yes, she was super rude.

 

:iagree:

 

I think it is both funny and awesome how blatantly you told her she was rude.

 

And once again, :iagree:

[goldberry]

That was really rude, and I actually don't think you responded badly, presuming you were relatively calm and not yelling.

[SonshineLearner]

Weird :( Very "foot in mouth" comment... Maybe "leg in mouth" :(

[MrsBasil]

That was really rude, and I actually don't think you responded badly, presuming you were relatively calm and not yelling.

 

No yelling. I was channeling the David Spade airline attendant SNL skit with my buh-bye. A touch sarcastic, but I'm often a touch sarcastic....usually I reign it in though.

 

So many things come to mind with this...

 

So rude!

Good for you!

 

This falls under the category of people feeling the need to share their opinions on everything! People are so self-centered these days! I hope the kids weren't with you.

 

To say it once, may be an innocent mistake of saying something before thinking about it. To attempt to clarify by saying the same thing was really rude.

 

Both kids were. Luckily my 3 year old was distracted.

[Violet Crown]

Well now we're all trying to formulate the perfect response should it ever, God forbid, happen again. I like, "We believe in giving our children real food, a real education, and real names."

[TranquilMind]

This is a Just Agree With Me. I don't want to hear her perspective, I just want someone to agree with me that telling a stranger that her kids have boring names is rude.

 

Today I was told that my kid's have boring and unoriginal names. I thought that was rude and told them so.

 

Rude Person: Oh, so cute! What are their names?

Me: They are W--- and S----.

Rude Person. Oh(subdued voice) that's...nice. Kind of boring.

Me: What?

Rude Person: Well, just not very original. You know. Boring and plain.

Me: That's (I lose tact) really rude. It was SO nice to have met you.

Rude Person: You don't have to be upset. I'm just saying what I think.

Me: Yeah, me too. I'm just saying. You're rude. Buh-bye.

 

I walked away. She yelled at me, "Hey wait, I didn't mean.." but after that I couldn't hear her and stopped paying attention, because I was floored.

 

You don't even have to ask us to agree. This is OBJECTIVELY rude on any planet anywhere.

 

Wow.

[nukeswife]

I agree totally rude on her part.

 

I probably would have said "I'm sorry did you really just say that out loud?"

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I definitely agree with you. Incredibly rude! She'd probably say the same thing to me - boring names here on all three. But I grew up never being able to find pre-printed personalized stuff. (Now I can find it everywhere, but then...) So I *wanted* my kids to be able to find stuff with their names on it.

 

Boring names of the world unite!

 

:grouphug: This was me, too! They NEVER had my name, and I really wanted that for my kids. But apparently, my ds#1's name doesn't qualify.

 

I didn't realize that there was an official name judger. I wonder at what point she decided that she was the authority on kids names. I'm totally bummed that I didn't know to call her up and get her approval before naming my kids. Now I am may never know if they live up to her...standards. How will I sleep tonight?

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5:

 

I think it is both funny and awesome how blatantly you told her she was rude.

 

:iagree: Wonderfully smart of you to dis-engage and not let her continue to try to justify herself.

[Mommy22alyns]

Wow, that was uncalled for levels of rude! I'd agree with you even if it wasn't JAWM! :001_huh:

[Evergreen State Sue]

How intolerant of you to not accept her opinion!

 

Totally agree with you . . . she was rude and you gave her a chance with your first "What?" to apologize but she just didn't get it.

[besroma]

I agree totally rude on her part.

 

I probably would have said "I'm sorry did you really just say that out loud?"

 

:iagree:

[Reflections]

Good for you! Sometimes people need reminders about their rudeness.

[happypamama]

That was definitely rude of her!

 

People are welcome to think my children's names are boring. I think of them as "classic," personally. ;)

[countrygal]

WOW. Good for you, put her in her place without losing it either. I might have called her something really nasty.....

[IsabelC]

You handled it well.

 

It's never OK to criticize somebody's choice of children's names, but it's surprisingly common. I have had somebody tell me that the names we selected weren't very spiritual (not sure what this person would have considered a spiritual name).

[Laurie4b]

You didn't even have to post this as a JAWM thread. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't think that was rude.

 

Were your kids there?

 

I thought you exhibited a lot of self-control while at the same time letting her know she was way out of bounds. Hopefully, your actions will prevent her from "just saying what she thinks" to some other family.

[celticmom]

You're my hero! I never can say things in the moment.

 

She was very rude!

 

:iagree:

[KungFuPanda]

YOU DA BOMB!!!!! I LOVE that you called her on it.

 

Now, can we PLEASE try and guess her children's names? I'm guessing:

 

Boy: Superman Cape Smith (pronounced "Smythe")

 

Girl: Clymydia Headlight Smith (pronounced "Smeeth")

 

Mom's Name: Mabel Sue Smith

[Aggie]

That is rude. Who says carp like that?! Geesh.

 

One of my local acquaintances says stuff like that ALL the time. She openly and blatantly spouts her not-asked-for-opinion on everything from hobbies to clothes to dc's activities:

 

"Why would you send your dc to _______? How boring."

 

"That is a very tacky (Christmas) sweater you're wearing."

 

And there are others....

 

Just this week I was formulating a quick come-back. She always catches me by surprise because I would *never* say the things she says. I may just use the exact one op used. :D

[TranquilMind]

:iagree: I don't even care about name snobbishness, but when did sharing every f'ing thought that crosses your mind because "I'm only saying what I think/feel" become ok? Seriously. What is WRONG with people?

 

Normal social filters when out of style when social media came into being.

 

Now bores are not subjected to the social cues that we all grew up reading instinctively, because they can drone on and on ad nauseum on their little "all about me" pages and online worlds.

 

I keep telling my husband that in 25 years, no one will leave the house or interact with anyone for anything, except possibly for special occasions. Our lives will be conducted online.

 

I'm glad I grew up in the real world sometimes, even if that does make me "old".

[TranquilMind]

I agree with you, except that it would have been more fun to say "what an unoriginal thought. You must be a really boring person. Goodbye."

 

Ha ha. You always think of the good stuff when several hours have passed though, never on the spot! At least I do.

 

That would have been funny.:tongue_smilie:

[TranquilMind]

Not just rude, but wrong. Original and Kreeyative names are so 2000's. Normal is back.

 

I recently met a young mom who'd named her son William, and the parents called him Billy. I wanted to fall down at her feet in homage.

 

Lol.

 

Reminds me of the "Lemongelo" story. They asked the Mom how she thought of such a creative name and she said that decided that she would simply look around the room at the hospital and name the baby the first thing she saw.

 

Lemon Jello on the tray.

[JoLuRu]

I love "boring" names. We know a family with little boys Billy and Bobby. They're under 6, and adorable, and their names totally fit them. Old fashioned? A bit boring by Chick-fil-aiden naming standards? Maybe. But perfectly normal names that everyone knows how to pronounce, spell, and with professional sounding full names to grow into, in case they want to be president.

[momma2three]

I think you're awesome for speaking up to her. I can never think on my feet when people insult me: I probably just would have stared at her, totally speechless.

[kolamum]

Wow, I'd be floored too!

[LaxMom]

Normal social filters when out of style when social media came into being.

 

Now bores are not subjected to the social cues that we all grew up reading instinctively, because they can drone on and on ad nauseum on their little "all about me" pages and online worlds.

 

I keep telling my husband that in 25 years, no one will leave the house or interact with anyone for anything, except possibly for special occasions. Our lives will be conducted online.

 

I'm glad I grew up in the real world sometimes, even if that does make me "old".

No, I think it predates social media, though social media certainly made it exponentially worse. Remember when ":001_huh: I beg your pardon?" was a social cue that would cause people to retract or restate in a less offensive manner, rather than repeat with increased volume and enunciation? Yeah. Me, too.

[Kirch]

No, I think it predates social media, though social media certainly made it exponentially worse. Remember when ":001_huh: I beg your pardon?" was a social cue that would cause people to retract or restate in a less offensive manner, rather than repeat with increased volume and enunciation? Yeah. Me, too.

 

I think social media has just given more people more of a platform, and probably made it easier since the face-to-face element has been removed. I agree with you that it predates social media. I think it's been more of a gradual decline that has snowballed more recently. Looking back, I think you can trace trends that probably contributed to it--social media in the 2000s, talk shows/oversharing trends in the 80s and 90s, the rise of the self-esteem movement and focus on/acceptance of talk therapy in the 70s and 80s (I know and accept that therapy for individuals can be a needed and good thing; I'm thinking more of the cultural shift & the loosening of ideas of privacy. Even if that's mostly a good thing--we're better about dealing with abuse or rape, for example--I think the tendency to overshare and the breaking down of privacy even outside of a therapist/patient relationship have been unintended side effects). All of those things reinforce the idea that MY thoughts and feelings are important and that validation comes from sharing them.

 

It seems like many people just don't have much of a concept of privacy or an "inner life" any more. So therefore, the idea that someone *wouldn't* want to hear their every thought is just foreign. Obviously, that's not universal--see the outrage in this thread to prove that. I do think that social media is playing a role, though, even if it didn't all START there. I think as our teens and young adults grow up with facebook and twitter, many of them have gotten used to sharing things that we never would have, that would have been much harder to share in person--and we wouldn't have had an audience of hundreds or more if we did. They're also used to giving feedback on what others share, and just the fact that someone shares it is taken as a de facto invitation to comment.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Kirch