[mjkkbbr]

When I picked our daughter, Nastia, (home 2.5 months) up today from a day camp at their school another little girl asked me if her name was Jessica. The other girl said that Nastia told everybody that it was. I assumed that she misunderstood because Nastia's Russian speaking friend is named Jessica.

When I talked to her about it tonight she started crying and went and hid in her room (what she does when she is mad). I went up and used an online translator to ask her if she liked her name, Anastasia, with the nickname of Nastia. She said "NO!".

We asked her what she wanted to be called and she could not say. We gave her the choice of her middle name Renee or Anna or Ahna or to use her full name of Anastasia. She chose Anna. Now we have to get used to calling her a different name.

When we came home she hated the "Disney" pronunciation of Anastasia. She now dislikes the Russian pronunciation, like Ahnastaciya.

[kretzklan]

Very interesting. Did she say why she disliked it? Just because it's different or was there teasing?

I think you handled it very well - good luck doing the switch. Be sure to explain to her that you support her new name even if you use the "wrong" name. I started going by my middle name in 3rd grade and my mom didn't switch for a long time. I took it very personally...

[LilyMoon]

My daughter is also Anastasia and was called Nastia in Russia. We called her Nastia at first and then switched to the Disney pronunciation of Anastasia. She is really happy with that. We have talked about nicknames....Anya, Anna, Stasia and Asia. So far none have stuck. That's OK with me as I prefer the full Anastasia. I have loved that name long before I met my dd.

My dd also loved it when we went to a FRUA gathering and she met another Anastasia and they became fast friends.

[momm2be]

We went through a similar thing. Changed from Natasha to Natalie. It was hard for me to stop -- I just started calling her Nat until I could stop unintentionally using Natasha. Now I can use Natalie easily with her, and Natasha rarely rolls off my tongue.

In our case, I think she was tired being "the girl from Russia" and the name Natasha was a constant reminder for her and everyone else locally that she was.

We made the change over the summer so the new class would just know her as Natalie. There are some hanger-ons to the old nickname - from friends she was close with in Kindergarten. Some confusion as to how the names are alike--- most see Natasha and Natalie as two very distinct names, and a quick explanation that they are both nicknames for Nataliya ends the confusion.

The first thing I did to help her through the change was to order a denim jacket from Disney store with her new nickname embroidered on it. It really did help with the teachers and aftercare staff.

[pequele]

Jennifer

Can I ask 2 questions: how old is your daughter and what online translation did you use? I think the online translation site could be VERY usefull for people with older children (if they can read of course) unless it is an audio site as well.

Thanks!

[waitinginnj]

I am sure that Anna will settle in to her chosen identity quickly. What do you think caused this? Did she get teased? I am just thinking she may need some additional support at camp to help facilitate the change and eliminate any "irritants".

[mjkkbbr]

Pequele - We use Bablefish almost daily to "talk" to Anna. It has been wonderful to be able to explain things with. She does not understand everything but it does help.


waitinginnj - I don't think she was teased (my boys never saw her upset) but she since she came home she has had to say her name several times for people to say it correctly and many still were not saying it correctly. She would shake hands with people and say "Nastia" and they often would say "Nice to meet you too". I think she finally realized that people were not getting her name.

We prefer Anna anyways since Nastia is so close to Nasty. It will be best to have changed the name before starting school than to have lots of kids knowing both names and being confused.

[GCS]

You are probably right on with her being teased. Having a name that doesnt sound like something anyone else recognizes and working through the language issues may just be a bit too much for her right now.

She may want to try a few on before she decides on one. Good luck!

Christina