Dad stirs controversy after sharing his ‘insulting’ nicknames for his kids: ‘I don’t think

A father wants to know if his nicknames for his two daughters, ages 8 and 5, are actually insults. He claimed that referring to his daughters as “Pollyanna” and “Prima donna” is supposed to be endearing. “[My oldest daughter] went through a vintage Disney phase, and her favorite was ‘Pollyanna.’ She would pretend to be the titular character, and the nickname stuck”. “[My 5-year-old] has a flair for dramatics … She also used to throw some spectacular tantrums. During one of these tantrums, my wife called her a ‘Prima donna’ and the nickname stuck”. But the father started questioning things when his mother expressed that the nicknames would “make my kids feel divisive and that I was playing into the bad parts of their personalities”. The Reddit commentariat was gentle with the well-meaning father, but the verdict is in: dad is in the wrong here. “You need to see how having your kid’s nickname be a literal insult is going to take her self esteem down several pegs,” one user wrote. “You see this as a pretty cute and innocent thing and I can see why. However, both of these nicknames have certain very negative connotations,” someone wrote