For many couples, having children is the most joyful experience they have ever experienced. But as many of us know, parenthood certainly isn't stress-free...
We all know that parenting is one of the most challenging jobs there is. And with differing viewpoints on raising children, compromising can be a very real nightmare for couples.
For example, one dad-to-be has taken to social media to reveal that he and his wife are disagreeing over their unborn daughter's name. In fact, it goes a little deeper than that, as the expectant mom wants to name their little girl after her late mom.
The trouble is, her mom's name was Karen - you know, the name used to mock an archetypal middle-aged woman who is intolerant, unreasonable, and complains unnecessarily.
Despite the mom wanting the tribute, the dad has vetoed the name, and, as you'd expect, that didn't go down well.
Taking to Reddit's Am I The A**hole thread, he explained: "My wife and I recently found out we’re having a daughter. We hadn’t really talked about names before but we both agreed that each of us will retain veto power.
"When we did start discussing names, both of us wanted to name her after our late mothers. Her mom’s name was Karen and my mom’s name wasn’t a meme.
"I told her the baby can take my mom’s name as her first name and her mom’s name as a middle name, or have an entirely different name, but I can’t okay 'Karen' as a first name in any case."
The dad-to-be went on to say that his wife was "offended" and felt he was getting in the way of her honoring her late mother.
He continued: "I just don’t want to set our daughter up to be bullied throughout her life. I told her I’d be fine with whatever first name she picks as long as it doesn’t lead to the baby being picked on later in life, but she’s pretty insistent on Karen."
The dad-to-be's post received a mixed response from the Redditors, with many agreeing that his daughter would likely be teased with a name like Karen, and others suggesting the issue was overblown.
Agreeing with him, one user wrote: "It was a normal name, now it's a joke. Imagine 'baby Karen'. People are gonna make jokes all her life."
Another argued: "I think vetoing Karen right now is fine. But, don’t then push your mother's name as her first name it looks like you’re using the bad status that Karen currently has to get your own way and that’s pretty cheap. NAH."
However, others did not agree to the veto, with one saying: "The name Karen didn't mean anything 10 years ago and it won't mean anything 10 years from now. This is a little overblown."
Another said: "It’s a joke with our generation. It’s doubtful it will be a joke in hers. But regardless, parents get full veto power on names they don’t like (unless they abuse that power)."
In any case, an update to the dad-to-be's original post revealed that the expectant parents ultimately went with the name "Elizabeth". And there's a special reason behind it too - both their mothers had "Elizabeth" as their middle names.
What a wonderful coincidence!
