Absurd Names For Children – Should We Intervene?
There was an interesting news report from New Zealand regarding a judge who placed a 9-year old girl in the custody of the court so that her name could be changed. So what was the name that fueled this bold move on the part of this family court judge?
Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii
Seriously, that’s the girl’s name. In the judge’s ruling over this custody case, he wrote in his decision that he was concerned that this name “makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily” and that it demonstrated “the very poor judgment which this child’s parents have shown in choosing this name”. Adding weight to his decision was the comment made by the child’s lawyer that the girl was so embarrassed by this name her parents gave her that she didn’t even tell her friends what her real name was, choosing instead to tell them to call her “K”.
Certainly, cases of children being given odd names is nothing new and this isn’t the first time I’ve read about such incidents occurring where the local government registrar had to step in to deny a child being given an odd or inappropriate name by their parents. However, as a parent myself, I must admit to finding something offensive in having a governmental regulatory body deciding what we are allowed to name our children. Certainly, one need only look at the Americanization policy forced upon Native American populations in the United States to see the potential for abuse and intrusion by governmental bodies in the affairs of how families raise their children.
And yet, we have also seen instances where a parent can utterly fail in their responsibilities to protect and nurture a child. Indeed, in some cases it’s obvious that the focus on how the child was named has more to do with how it affects the perception of the parents and less with the identity it gives to the child. As such, there are valid reasons for measures to be put in place to protect the child and their rights over whatever rights a parent might think they have over a child simply because it is theirs.
And so, I’m going to leave you with this question – do you think parents should have to answer to local governments over what they choose to name their child or is this too much intervention in the personal lives of families? The answers it may bring forth should be rather telling about our views regarding families and parental rights.
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