Is this normal??

[Ashersmum]

A week ago my 3 y/o decided that his name should change to Mater (the Tow truck). He also calls my husband Lightning McQueen and he calls me Sally (this is not my name!!) All names are characters from the movie 'Cars' for those of you who don't know. He refuses to answer to his real name and never calls us Mummy and Daddy anymore : It feels a bit weird to me. Ok if it were for one day it would be funny but it has been constant for one week. He has told everyone at preschool that they must name him Mater, teacher included or he gets really upset. Funny thing is that he actually behaves better as Mater If I ask him to do something and call him 'Mater' he does it immediately. Is this normal is is this weird behavior? We have been struggling with a few aggression/ behavioral issues with him lately and then 'Mater' showed up...

[Hannahsmummy]

Not to laugh at your dilemma but that is hilarious!

A friend of my daughter's did that at the same age, it lasted about 2 weeks. You should feel lucky because this little boy wanted to be called Lola!

[Jessy1019]

I hated my name growing up (still do actually), and when I was two I started demanding that people call me by other names. Mud was the one I used first and used the longest. Then I moved on to Red (Fraggle), Ginger (Grant, Gilligan's Island) and Tina (Louise, also GI).

My dd on the other hand hates it when we call her by a name other than her own. It's pretty funny!

I think your son's behavior is normal!!

[Strong Mama]

You know, last month I was Sally!!! I am so missing my old name! Nah, typical normal, my ds(3 1/2) is Spatacus from lazy town this week....I wonder who he will be next week, last week he was Winnie the Pooh and I was eeyore!

[mamallama]

My middle child went through a phase of trying new names when she was about your son's age. We had to call her Lizzie for a long time and then Hazel. There were others, but they were shorter lived.

Sometimes now she pretends to be a famous chef named Rosetta Stone, but she'll stage whisper instructions to me if I forget. She has a sense of humor about the alter egos that she certainly did not have when she was three.

[Ashersmum]

hehehe Ok good - it's normal. I was starting to worry that I had a Norman Bates on my hands :

[redpajama]

Hey--my son is "Lie-Keem" (Lightning McQueen).

I think that makes my son and your son best friends, doesn't it?

[my2suns]

I can relate. When my son was 4 he decided his name was Peter Parker (from Spiderman) he even had his preschool teacher calling him that. She went along with it, and we did too. I can't remember how long it lasted, a while I know, but he is now Caleb and has been since then!

[TortelliniMama]

Last year we had *months* of being Bob the Builder characters. Ds was Bob, dd was Dizzy, I was Lofty, and dh was Scoop. If you forgot and called ds "Isaac," even if you were talking to someone else and just referred to him by that name, he'd yell, "Bo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ob!"

It's been close to a year since he dropped it, and I still sometimes unthinkingly call him Bob.

[TiredX2]

My kids also did that.

What really messed me up is when the picked opposite gender characters and then got pissed if you used the wrong pronoun. :

[towsonmama]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

My kids also did that.

What really messed me up is when the picked opposite gender characters and then got pissed if you used the wrong pronoun. :

My dd does that! I had to be Troy from HSM and dh referred to me as "she." Dd went ballistic!

[KalamazooMom]

My DD did that too. I chuckled at your post because I had forgotten that stage. It went from the time she was maybe 3 until she was about 4. My DS is now 4.5 and has never done that kind of thing.

[LaLaLaLa]

My ds hit this milestone early.... we were sitting at the dinner table and my dd, who is three, was asking about people's names (middle names, names of her friends' moms, last names). We asked her for her full name and she gave it. Then we asked ds (20 months old) his name and he said "Bumpy." He doesn't yet demand we call him that in day-to-day life, but that is his response anytime we ask his name. He thinks it is absolutely hysterical. So do we, actually. Shortly after that, his sister was christened "spaghetti."

[limabean]

Sorry to be serious, as it is a cute issue, but I'm just thinking of the teacher -- those of you whose kids went through this phase, did they insist that teachers/other adults outside the family call them their "new" name? If so, did you enforce/encourage that?

[darien]

Originally Posted by limabean

Sorry to be serious, as it is a cute issue, but I'm just thinking of the teacher -- those of you whose kids went through this phase, did they insist that teachers/other adults outside the family call them their "new" name? If so, did you enforce/encourage that?

My first ds, Taro, just may be the king of the sudden name change. At 2, he was "Raffi." Dp and I called him that, and so did my family (when they remembered). MIL refused, and tried to argue him out of it.

At 3, he was "Dorothy Ann," from the Magic School Bus. I have to admit, while putting my son's hair in perky ponytails before preschool in the mornings, I wished that he had chosen a male character! His teachers were fairly patient with Taro's role-playing, but they didn't usually address him as "Dorothy Ann" (and he didn't seem to freak out on them about it, like he did at home!).

At 4.5, he insisted on being called "Benny Alden" (from the Boxcar Children books). He refused to answer to his real name at his (new) preschool. Sigh. Most of the teachers were ok with it, as long as he agreed to respond if they accidentally called him the "wrong" name. One teacher, though, really got her knickers in a twist about it at first. She eventually agreed to call him "Taro Benny."

One reason that teacher didn't want to call Taro by another name was that she worried the other kids would get confused. Only one kid did, though. He was still calling Taro "Benny" a year after he gave up the name!

Taro outgrew the name-changing around 5. Now my 3 year old, Jiro, is in that phase. He's deeply infatuated with the film "My Neighbor Totoro." For weeks, he's been "Mei," I am "Satsuki," and Taro is "Kanta," whether he likes it or not! I tell Taro it's karmic retribution for all the times he renamed everyone else.

[tuck]

This thread is a riot! My son ADORES Wynonna. We have a live concert dvd that he watches...he plays guitar and sings, doing her every move right on time. I was named Vicki Hampton, and DW was Robert Bailey. We are the backup singers He, of course, is Wynonna.
Sometimes we play a game called "Guess who's here". Ds goes on the porch and rings the bell. I answer and say "Oh Wynonna! So glad you came to visit, etc." Big hugs all around as he tries to look all famous...Sometimes he says no, no, I'm not Wynonna- and goes back on the porch. I guess again who he may be ( max or ruby, anybody from Wynonna's band, a character from little bear, raffi, etc).I have to keep guessing so I'll get my hug and his big smile. We hardly play this anymore. Thanks for reminding me, I want to write it in his baby book...

[Ashersmum]

Ok, so today we were renamed! He all of a sudden piped up in the car that he was no longer Mater! It is actually quite refreshing to not be Sally the car anymore . We are Thomas the train characters now ...I am James, my son's name is now Gordon and he has named his baby brother Thomas. Unfortunately his Dad is still Lightning McQueen and may stay like that forever... Thanks for all your responses - this has become quite funny

[jdmcgee]

I think it is very normal. My 3 1/2 year old watched the Little Mermaid and loved it (she does not watch a lot of tv). She became Prince Eric. My 18 month old became Flounder, etc. We went to my mother-in-laws for Thanksgiving and she politely corrected everyone who called her by her real name. Now she goes back and forth. I am not concerned at all. I am glad that she has such a great imagination. I am also just glad that my husband was Ursula...not me (LOL).

[MaxMommy]

Our ds has finally grown out of that (I hope)

For the longest time he was Johnny Cash, he still intends to change his name to that when he grows up.

For awhile we were all construction vehicles. Ds was Loader, I was Crane and dh was Loader

[AugustineM]

My DS is always calling himself "Pippi Longdocking." Even when he meets new people he says, "I'm pippi longdocking." (Pippi Longstocking for those who don't know. He adores Pippi.)

The other day he said that I am Old Man (her horse), Daddy is Tommy and baby sister is Mr. Nelson (her monkey).

So cute.