Franklin, Tuck or George?

We recently added a new member to our family. A turtle. It was a young turtle with a shell about the size of 1/2 dollar, found nearly frozen. We have nursed him back to health and it looks like he may be here to stay. We’ll add him to our backyard pond when it warms up.

The biggest debate was over the name. “Daddy, he has to have a name,” they tell me. Well, that’s what I do at work every day, so this won’t be too difficult. But, I soon realized that achieving a consensus with an 11, 7 and 5 year old is more difficult than with a board of directors. Some names I suggested were perfect like Franklin (the turtle character in the childrens books) or Tuck (turtles tuck their heads inside their shells and a Tuck is a Wonder Pets character) or George (named after Lake George where he was found). The kids dismissed them all.

The problem was the kids couldn’t think of any names they liked. It was becoming an issue because we had to call this turtle something. So, one night I decided to dig out an old Franklin book and I read it to the kids before bed thinking that would sway them into a decision. I finished the book, put it down and asked, “So, how about Franklin?”

The kids almost in unison answered, “We like Tuck!”

There may be a lesson here about branding and naming and selling your ideas, but I haven’t figured it out yet.