s/o names, did anyone use a nickname but then use formal name at school?

AgrippaRidesAgain

DD is Margot, nn Maggie. Honest to goodness, the girl is not even two and my SIL has forgotten that her name is actually Margot. I love her real name, and plan on teaching her to write it instead of Maggie when the time comes. I kind of want to send her to school as Margot and just keep Maggie as her home nickname. Do you think that would be confusing to a preschooler? It is obviously a few years away. ;:-)

lady_tytah

My daughter goes by Nene at home but Nefertiti while in school. She's not confused at all. They just learn they have more than one name just like we have another outside of mommy

neverblushed

I think if you want her to identify herself primarily as "Margot" you need to use that name at home at least some of the time.  It's probably not too late to make that happen, as this story demonstrates:

I know a family whose son is named Jackson.  His sister is only about 13 months older than him, and from early on, she called him "Bubby."  The NN stuck and for 5 years, he was called "Bubby" by everyone who knew him: family, friends, daycare, etc.

When his parents enrolled him in K, they explained the NN situation to the school.  The parents said they'd like him to be known by his real name at school.  The school recommended that they stop using the NN for a while and get him used to his "big kid" or "real" name.  It only took a few months for everyone to begin using "Jackson" most of the time.  Now the family occasionally still calls him "Bubby," but he mostly goes by his real name.

ppants

DD went by Alexandra in K, but her nn is Allie. I know there is at least one "Allie" in her grade so she'd might have to go by Allie S if she does use the nn. She's still deciding.

CareBear0607

Hey, Agrippa!  Totally lurking here, but thought I would let you know how it was for DD starting school.

DD's name is Samantha.  Family and friends call her Sammie (sometimes Sam).  At home we call her a mix of Sammie and Samantha (but usually Sammie).  Any classes we went to (through the park district and/or the library) I would always register her as Samantha so her teachers were calling her that.  Around 2 1/2 we started making an effort to call her Samantha more at home.  We explained that her full name was Samantha and that her nn was Sammie. 

Once school started I registered her as Samantha and told the teachers I wanted her to recognize Samantha as her name as well as learn how to write Samantha.  She had no problems with it.  At school her friends call her Samantha (sometimes I hear the teachers calling her Sam/Sammie which both she and I are ok with).  Her friends in the neighborhood all call her Sammie.

I think calling her both names before school even started helped with the transition.

jlw2505

By the time a child starts school, they will be old enough to tell you what they want to be called.  My niece is Gabrielle but has always been called Gabi.  When she started kindergarten she insisted on being called Gabrielle and used it on everything - it lasted less than that year and she was back to Gabi for everything.  I was Jennifer and while my official paperwork at school said Jennifer, I don't think anyone every called me Jennifer past the 1st day of school.  I went to a smaller school and the teachers pretty much knew all the kids so whatever stuck when you started is what you were called for the most part.

June2007

DD#2 is not even 2 and we call her buggy all the time at home. She even tells you her name is buggy. She has no issue responding to her real name too. I think it will be fine and not too confusing.

chchchcherrybomb

My oldest daughter is Prudence, but we called her Pru from the time she was an infant. As she got older and started introducing herself, she would say "Roo", and it stuck. So now, she's Ru to everyone except her teachers at school. I think she wants to start being perceived as "grown-up" and shed her baby name, and school is where she is experimenting with that. 

qt030603

DD is Makenzie at school (her choice) and Kenzie at home. I have always called her Kenzie since the day she was born. She was fine learning to write her name and everything once she got to school.