I don't think gma is doing anything wrong

Casadena

Dear Prudence, 

My wife and I have two kids, and we didn’t give them traditional names but short one-syllable ones. Think Luz or Bri. My mother always uses song nicknames for my sister and me. Think Lola, so my sister was Lo Lo Lee Ah as a baby. So with our babies, my mother will make up names and use them rather than their actual ones. Only people will then use the incorrect names like Lucy or Brilee. Someone will correct them, and that is all I think needs to be done, but it gets under my wife’s skin. She constantly complains about it. She says my mother is being passive-aggressive and petty about the name choices.

While it was clear my mother wasn’t the biggest fan of the names, she didn’t complain about them and put them on the baby blankets she made for them. She refers to them by name in texts and stuff. She only uses the silly nicknames verbally. I pointed out to my wife that her family has a similar tradition of using short nicknames. She says that it is entirely different and that I need to talk to my mom. I really don’t think this is a habit worth picking a fight over. Can I get an outside opinion?

banana468

You guys made the choice to do something unconventional and your mom does something unconventional.

Is your wife someone who is looking for a fight?  If this isn't a weird P/A behavio by your mom I think you need to tell your wife it's not a battle you are planning to pick and she needs to get over it. 

ei34

Eh.  Nicknames happen.  I think I'd let this go.

Casadena

This is so me. Everyone has a nickname, i call my kids/niece/nephew cutesy stuff like this all the time. I know their names and would use them if corrected/it bothered the parents this much, but i'd think they were ridiculously over the top and micromanagey. Doesn't mean i'm right, people have the right to insist their kids are called what the want when they're small. But I will judge them silently for being controlling and annoying. 

MyNameIsNot

Ugh, this is my SIL losing her mind any time someone calls her kid by a super obvious nickname. (Think Jenny for Jennifer). 

You're delusional if you think your kid isn't going to end up with their own nickname by the time the get to school. 

levioosa

One of my nicknames is an inanimate object completely separate from my name, so I literally wouldn’t care. I think there’s some overreacting here. 

VarunaTT

Hm.  I don't mind nicknames, except one.  My name is Amy and I LOATHE it when people say Aim.  no, No, NO.  It's so short, it's 2 syllables, and I'm not toothpaste with a flouride stripe.  My aunt calls me Aims and I tolerate it from her, no one else.  In high school, people combined my first and last name into one word and that was fine (think Bennifer for Ben and Jennifer type thing).  But that's ME and MY name...I think if my mom had feels about it, I'd think she was weird and worrying about things outside her lane.

short+sassy

I'm having a flashback of that SNL character who would lengthen everyone's name.

Like if someone's name was Steve, he'd address him as, "Sssteeevvveee. The Stevester. The Stevearino."