Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What's in a Name?

"What is your doll's name?" "What is your pet's name?"

New plush animals, dolls, and pets that children received as holiday gifts offer naming opportunities to provide creative, globe-spanning answers to the questions adults often use to interact with youngsters.

A plush tiger named "Gandhi" reflects one of the big cat's last remaining habitats in India, and "Mandela" the lion pays homage to South Africa's great leader. "Churchill," England's World War II leader, is the perfect name for a new bulldog.

Girls may choose to name their dolls Marie Curie for the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry or Amelia Earhart for the first woman to make a solo transoceanic flight. They might choose the name "Golda" to honor Israel's late prime minister or "Malala" to honor the girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize at age 17 after she survived a bullet meant to silence her efforts to help girls receive an education in Pakistan.

History and the news are rich resources of names that help children connect with those who have made or now make a major impact on their world. At foreign films, pay attention to the credits which are filled with different names used in other countries. Instead of Bob, encourage a child to name an action figure, Lars.

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