Today’s activity is a simple reminder to… use your child’s name! It builds upon the Name Drop game we played back when Veronika was only two months old.

A child’s name is one of the first words they’ll truly recognize, since they probably hear it hundreds of times each day. For each action today, I made a point of saying “Veronika,” first. “Veronika, I’m going to pick you up now.” “Veronika, we’re going to do your diaper change.” “Veronika, we’re getting in the car.”

Then, although she’s years away from learning to read and write her name, it was also fun to provide her with a visual of it throughout the day.

To wit, she starts the day on the sheets that say her name!

Big brother Travis and I then had fun going through “Veronika’s photo album,” and putting together a personalized puzzle with her name – and she got to have fun watching the action.

Personalized books are great for this purpose, too, since many companies will now custom print a book featuring your child’s name.

We even have a family song almost entirely about her name. The ditty works like a charm whenever she’s fussy in the car. It goes:

Veronika, Veronika

We love Veronika – oh yeah!

And yes, I’ve been known to repeat this song for up to ten minutes on end, if it keeps her calm!

What other cute personalized items does your baby have? Chairs? Step stools? Backpacks? Please share in the comments!