A recent article in the globegazette.com entitled “Emma, Ethan Lead Iowa’s Baby Name List” by Rod Boshart discusses the most popular baby names today. And also the anxiety that parents experience when they have to come up with a name!

In days gone by your name was simply your name, the word by which to get your attention. Today names have taken on more meaning. Parents experience a lot of anxiety looking for the right name. Trendy but not too out there. Strong. Names have to say, “I am unique!”

Does this reflect our general feelings of being lost and overlooked in this world of ours? If so, then shouldn’t we acknowledge that and pay much more attention to bringing up our children with high self-esteem. Let’s aim at raising our kids to define their name and not the other way around.

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Marsha Jacobson is author of "Boom... Boom... Boom...: A Story to Raise Your Child's Emotional Intelligence". She is a regular contributor of mychildfeels.com and you can visit her website at marshajacobson.com.