On the Couch with Jasminda Opinion by News Of The Area - Modern Media - December 11, 2018 Do you have a pressing problem, annoying anxiety or community conundrum? Jasminda Featherlight, our resident roving Agony Aunt, is here to help. Jasminda will be responding to questions from our News Of The Area papers on a rotating basis. Send your concerns to Jasminda care of edit@mcnota.com.au and include your title, initials and suburb. Modern Media: Advertise with News Of The Area and you get your ad in 1) in Print, 2) on the News Website (like this ad), and 3) on our Social Media news site. A much more efficient way to advertise. Reach a HUGE audience for a LOW price TODAY! Call us on 02 4983 2134. Or media@newsofthearea.com.au Or CLICK FOR ADVERT QUOTE Dear Jasminda, My best friend has known for years the name I have planned to give my first child. Now she has bought a puppy and taken the name. I am furious. Ms KP Dear Ms KP, I guess it depends what you had planned to call this child. Was it Marley or Benji or Rufus or Rex? These are names that should not be bestowed on a child, so your friend has actually done you a huge favour. Perhaps she took the name to save your child years of embarrassment. You should thank her instead of being furious. Names are a very personal thing, but some parents are just clueless and their kids suffer a lifetime of embarrassment because of it. Here are some of them (and also a reason why not everyone should procreate just because they can): Alphabeta, Earwacker and Gassy are listed as names in Births, Deaths and Marriages. What were they thinking? In a recent news story, a steward copped a lot of flack for having a dig at a child called Abcde. Shouldn’t it have been the parent copping it for being a moron? Your name is often the first thing people will learn about you. It is all about making a great first impression. I’m sorry your friend has called her dog after your baby name, but there’s not a lot you can do about it now. If it is any consolation, dogs generally don’t live a long time, so if you can put up with her faux pas for a bit over a decade, the dog will be gone, and your child can keep the name it is entitled to without the competition. Carpe diem, Jasminda.
