Dad’s Losing Out on Choosing Child Names

By admin, on February 11th, 2009

Dads always lose out when it comes to making a final decision on naming a new addition to the family: according to a new study out today from BabyCentre, the UK’s leading parenting website.

The poll of 3,000 parents revealed that more than 62% of dads who took part in the survey claim their ideas were completely dismissed by their partner, with 8% of those saying EVERY single suggestion they made was ignored and leaving them to make-do with mum’s decision!

Admitting Defeat

31% of dads polled for BabyCentre admitted defeat and accepted a name which wasn’t their favourite. And a staggering 36% of all dads admitted they did this just to have an easy life!

But there’s hope

But there are optimistic dads out there: 15% felt that by giving in to their wife’s wishes it meant they would get to choose the name of any future children.

It’s all in a name

The research also revealed that choosing a name for a baby isn’t an easy ride for either parent: 22% fall out over the decision-making process. But once that new name has been chosen, a whopping 64% of parents thought their choice could contribute to their child’s success later in life.

And the moral of the story

According to BabyCentre… keep your choice of names close to your chest. Just under 20% of parents-to-be had to change their ‘naming’ plans after a friend or relative pinched the name in mind before they were able to use it. How irritating!

BabyCentre’s top tips for harmonious name choosing:

1. Both partners draw up a list of their favourite names. Swap lists and cross off the ones you really couldn’t live with. Stick the list of possible names on the fridge and live with them for a while. You may find you feel differently about each other’s choices as the birth draws near.

2. Why not have one parent choose the first name, the other the middle name.

3. Introduce a few “wild card” choices – hit the “surprise me” button on BabyCentre’s baby namer (www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname). With 16,000 names to choose from there’s bound to be one you agree on!