A mother has asked Reddit users if she and her husband are “crazy” to consider letting their adopted son legally change his name.
The mum explained that the couple adopted their son three years ago, and that he has a “rather unusual name”. Initially she opted not to share his name, telling users it was the name of a piece of furniture. It was only later, after someone correctly guessed the name, that she admitted her son was called Closet.
She explained that when they adopted their son, they decided to keep his name because they felt it wouldn’t have been right to take it away from him.
But since starting school, he has been getting teased about his name, his mother explained in her post.
“I told him that he could use one of his middle names if he preferred that. He decided to use Harrison from that point forward.”
“He gets upset any time he sees his actual first name written down on forms,” the mum wrote. “He [also] gets upset when he has a substitute [teacher] and she calls him [by his first name]. He really doesn’t like his first name and he said it makes him think bad things.”
The mum explained, “His seventh birthday is coming up and he asked if we could change his name to Harrison for his birthday present.”
“Would you let your kid do it?” she asked.
6 year old wants his name changed legally. Are we crazy to actually be considering this? from Parenting
The boy received overwhelming support from Reddit users.
One commenter said the parents should grant the child’s birthday wish. “In the case where neither parent is attached to the name, the child hates it and it’s unusual enough to draw negative attention? Definitely.”
Another wrote, “I’d say in 99 per cent of situations the kid is too young to make this decision. I’d also say this is the 1 per cent.”
The mother appreciated the supportive comments, but said she was worried her son will resent her later.
“I just worry about his regretting it and resenting us for allowing him to do it,” she wrote. “Probably an irrational fear, but that’s why I’ve come to Reddit.”
But some users pointed out that the opposite could also happen. “I think it’s more likely that he resents you when he’s older for making him keep the name. As others have said, he can change it to whatever he wants when he’s older, but for now he has a very reasonable desire. I’d grant it. The name clearly is a source of nothing but distress.”
After she revealed the name later in the thread, support for the name change grew even more, with one commenter saying, “No offence, but I would definitely want to change my name if it was Closet.”