3 Year Old Wants To Be Called A Different Name

[olliepop]

When my ds was 2, he insisted he was 5, claiming that "two is a baby number." This lasted all year and we chalked it up to him just wanting to be older b/c he has an older sister and older friends.

Right before he turned 3, I started telling him how cool it is to be 3, all the "big guy" stuff he can do and when he had a birthday, he accepted his new age!

Now he's insisting we call him Reese (not his name, far from his name). Not sure where he heard the name in the first place. Maybe heard it at his sister's school. Anyway, he say that he's pretending or playing house and that we have to call him Reese. He does it everyday and gets angry and yells if we forget and call him by his real name.

Maybe not a big deal, but it lasts for hours sometimes and he will just say over and over again. "I'm playing house and my name is Reese." And we're like OK, we got it.

Is this normal for a new 3 year old? Do we keep calling him Reese? Do we put a limit on his Reese time? Ignore it - ride it out? Not sure what to do. He's starting to do it in public now too, supermarket, friend's houses.

[Red Pajama]

One of my twins at three went by Wallace for a long time. THere was something else, nothing like his real name or like wallace, too. He went so far as to sign his name. Now he's spiderman. I'll indulge for awhile, but tell him he also has to learn to write his real name, too.

I usually play along with what he wants to be called. If I'm corrected for calling him his given name, I remind him that we named him G, and that's his name, too.

I haven't worried about it, and think it's connected to being an imaginative kid. Does your son live in his imagination?

[HisBeautifulWife]

I used to do that all the time as a kid. I don't know where the name Consuelo came from but I insisted on being called that. My parents still chuckle about it now. I don't really see how it could be harmful. If he wants to be called Reese, then call him Reese. No sense in fighting over it especially since he realizes its pretend.

[tinuviel_k]

Ah yes, I remember that stage! My daughter was three when she insisted that we call her... Aweatrea. That is pronounced Ah-wee-ah-tree-ah. I think she made up the word/name.

She went through about 4 months where she was asking pretty consistently to be called Aweatrea. Obviously we didn't rush out to the social security office to change her name officially, and we didn't use the name all the time. But we'd use it sometime in play when she prompted us. Eventually she forgot all about it.

[Polliwog]

My almost three-year-old likes to be called Amelia. She saw a picture of a girl with the same hat (in a message board siggy pic) and asked the girls name. It was Amelia and now Polliwog likes to be called that a lot of the time. It's not a big deal.

[pixiekisses]

Ah yeah, remember that stage. Not a big deal.

[34me]

My ds's middle name is Rhys. Same pronounciation. A phase for alot of kids.

[LynnS6]

One child in dd's daycare class came in with a different name every day practically. She had a set of them she rotated between. Some weeks she was "Tyrone", some days she was "Rose" some days something completely different. Her parents were very laid back about it, and by the time she was 4 1/2, she was her own name all the time.

[FreeRangeMama]

My ds1 insisted on being called a number when he was almost 2. He refused to answer to anything else, ESPECIALLY not his actual name. He is now nearly 9 and still goes by the number. He will use his name for extra-curricular activities (we homeschool, so that isn't an issue), but friends and family all still call him the number.

When it first started we figured it was a phase and he would grow out of it. 7 years later he still prefers it. We have talked a lot about how it is just his nickname, and likely as a teen or adult he may not want to be called that anymore. And we do get tired of the odd looks we get from other parents when we call out for him across the gym or the park. Otherwise it actually suits him really well and has made him unique among his peers (which he really likes). Plus, we respect his wishes as it is HIS name so therefore HIS choice.

So, probably a phase. But you never know, it just may stick

[meemee]

yup yup yup.

from 3 to 5 my dd went thru a phase of a different name. i even got her bday cake to say her chosen name. then she spoke to her k teacher and tried to get her to use that at school. her teacher spoke to her - had a discussion where dd accepted that on paper she would use her given name and her friends could call her by her chosen name.

by end of k she was done with her chosen name and went back to her own name.

for those years i never used her anything but her chosen name. in fact she introduced herself to everybody by that name.

i was sad to see the name go.

[One_Girl]

My dd likes to be called by other names when she is wrapped up in her imagination world. I think it is very normal to want to be someone else or to get this involved in a game. I remember how frustrated I was as a child when my mom refused to call me any nickname except Sunshine (which was a baby name and very annoying). I think you should just go with it as much as possible. I make a joke about my old brain when I forget to call dd the name she has decided to be called by or I forget what animal she is for the hour.

[Peony]

I remember my little sister going by Priscilla for quite some time. It is very normal. Like another poster said every now and then it will stick. DD1 decided when she was 4 that she wanted to be called a variation of her name, interestingly it was the name that I desperately had wanted to name her but DH didn't like so I settled (DD1 never knew this) for her name. 3 years later she solely goes by that name she choose for herself.

[olliepop]

Thank you so much for your replies. I'm relieved to see that it is a normal stage. I just wasn't sure b/c my dd never did anything like this.

[onyxravnos]

i was diamond..for a long time even to people i met at the park or such. and when i was about 11 I was Milly for a whole summer at camp.

normal. i would just go with it. Just like if he were a 'dog' that day (which my DS is frequently for days at a time) I just go with it.

[Holiztic]

More like story play, but same idea-DS was insistent on being Roo for 2 weeks. I mean he really insisted.

Normal, I think.

[Girlprof]

Our DS went by Dolly Parton for a looong time. Then he was Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. Some of his toys still have "Belle" written on them since he had to have his name on anything that went to PS. He was also Kangaroo's Dad for quite awhile. Obviously, we just went with all of this.

I kinda miss those times. Sweet and very very funny.

[honeybunmom]

My daughter is "Anna" often these days. But, when she is a dog, it is often Silver and Gold. Maybe it's spelled Silverandgold.

[earthgirl]

My daughter, also 3, rarely goes by her name anymore. She keeps up the persona wherever we are. And come to think of it, no one goes by their given name anymore. My husband has been "George" (from the George and Martha books) for about 6 months now.