Tips on Choosing a Baby Name

Before choosing a name for your baby, there are several things that you need to consider. First of all you should consider the child's ancestry.

Usually it is nice to give your baby a first or a middle name that refers somehow to a relative your family tree. In some cultures, this is considered to bring you good fortune as it is thought that the guardian spirit of that relative will always be watching over your child.  Also it is a way of “branding” a child so that he or she always feels like a cherished member of your tribe.  

Before you give your child a name, be sure to look up it’s meaning to make sure that it does not have unflattering connotations. For instance, the name Luxton, might sound very elegant and mean “elegance” in English, but if your child is Jewish, the name will translate to mean “limp noodle.”  This rule especially applies to names that sound exotic and Far Eastern.  The name Kali might sound pretty for a little girl, but it means “Goddess of Death” in India.   Does the name sound right when you call it?  Realize that during the first w years you will be often calling out this child’s name as in  “Aberdeen, don’t stick your finger in the light socket!” 

Make sure that it is a name that you and others can pronounce easily. Does the name have an attractive casual short form?  The best names are ones that can be shortened so that the child can have an affectionate nickname.  The more versatile the name the better, especially if the child doesn’t like his or her full name when he or she grows up. An example of a good versatile name is Delilah, which can be shortened to Dee, Del, Lily or Lilah. 

Will children make fun of the name?  To you the name Dorcas has great ancestral significance as well as refers to a great Sea Goddess. To your child it is a curse as her dignified moniker is shortened and she is called “Dork” throughout her child hood years. Is the name really difficult to spell?  You can save your child a lot of grief later in life if you avoid names that don’t sound like they are spelt. A classic example is “Siobhan”, pronounced “Shove-on”.  You might also want to avoid names that are pronounced the same but have several spellings, (such as Sharmain or Sharmaine or Charmain or Charmaign or Charmaine) as these can get misspelled on government and insurance forms. Now that you know the ground rules when it comes to naming your child, you are ready to choose a name. The rest of the course is really just a matter of your good taste!

Parenting Tips
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Just What is Pesto?

Since I wrote my first blog on pesto a few months ago some people have been asking me exactly what it is. Just what is pesto? 

Well, first of all it is a sauce. The basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: fresh basil leaves, cheese (either Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino), pine nuts or walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. The great debate, and the great fun, about pesto is deciding on the proper proportions with which to combine these ingredients and whether to add any extras. Ultimately, with some experimentation, you can make pesto that suits your tastes exactly.  

Traditionally, pesto sauce is made by hand with a mortar and pestle. Fortunately, we have food processors and blenders, which make the job much easier. Save your energy for other things, like making fresh pasta to go with the pesto.

Pesto can be applied to just about any shape of pasta and other ingredients can be included. Pesto is also excellent in many soups, from vegetable soups such as minestrone. Pine nuts are actually the seeds produced by certain varieties of pine tree; they are found on the pine cones, where they are covered by a hard shell. There are several varieties of pine trees that produce pine nuts, including the umbrella pine or stone pine. Most edible pine nuts grow in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and France, although some also grow in Spain, Portugal, and the southern United States. 

The greatest exponent of monounsaturated fat is olive oil, and it is a prime component of any pesto. Olive oil is a natural juice, which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is – freshly pressed from the fruit. Furthermore you can't beat pesto in terms of nutrition. Basil contains iron, calcium, Vitamin A, dietary fiber, magnesium, Vitamin A and calcium. 

Basil also contains the antioxidants that protect human cells against disease and pollution. Basil also contains estragole, linalool, cineole, eugenol, sabinene, myrcene, and limonene, which are antibacterial agents that protect against bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli Yersinia enterocolitica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basil also contains cyclooxygenase that acts as an natural antinflammatory. Of course pesto is a good food for adults too.

The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.  Pine nuts contain alpha-lineolic acid, which is an amino acid responsible for keeping all of the other amino acids in the body working smoothly together. 

The cheese in pesto is also a high source of calcium.  An added bonus?  The garlic in it prevents kids from getting sick. The best thing about pesto is that many kids seem to really love it, especially if you put it on pizza or on top of spaghetti and call it something like monster spaghetti. 

Parenting Tips
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