Mum furious at friends who won't use chosen nickname for baby

Nicknames for kids are a difficult thing to foster – if you force a particular moniker too much, you'll never get it off the ground. But if you leave it to the devices of mean kids, you might get something you definitely do not like.

A mum is going through this very dilemma right now, taking to the Mumsnet forum to express her frustration.

"I’m 35 weeks pregnant and I’m having a little boy," the mum-to-be writes. "Since I was a child I’ve loved the name Alexander James, using AJ as a nickname."

But, she points out, James is a very common first and middle name now. "So I changed the middle name for my son to Jason but still want to call my baby AJ," she says.

"Over the last few weeks everyone from my step mum to the children on my partner's side have been referring to him as 'Alex' no matter how many times I correct them. 

"It’s not as if they’ve ever refused to use nicknames before. We have an Ollie (Oliver), Harry (Harrison), Albie (Albert) and Mila (Emelia), so why is it that they’re refusing to use my chosen nickname?

"Am I just being an unreasonable b--ch to expect people to use a specific short form?"

As with most requests in forums like these, people didn't tend to hold back with their answers.

"You can't dictate a child's nickname, sorry," one person bluntly said.

"Nicknames are earned… Stop trying to make AJ happen," said another person.

"It's not up to you.... A nickname is a shortened version which people choose to use as it suits them. You can't police it!"

Others pointed out that telling people your kid's name before it's born is always a disaster – people always have opinions!

"It's always best to not tell anyone any names until after the baby is born," said one person. "Too late now but I would imagine as he goes through life at school he will be called Alex."

It's a tricky one. Nickname or not, parents choose what name they give their kids so it would be frustrating to have friends and family completely miss the point.

Then again, you can't just nip it in the bud and name your kid straight initials to quell any confusion.

Maybe it'll just have to remain a special nickname between mother and son.