An Update for Grandma and Grandpa

The internet is brimming with websites offering lists of such babyish options, the most expansive of which is www.banananana.com, which includes other "fun stuff for the groovy grandma, " and there's also a whole book devoted to the mission, The New Grandparents Name Book, a Lighthearted Guide to Picking the Perfect Grandparent Name, offering 700 suggestions, from Babaloo to Grandoody to Granola.

Some new Grands opt, like La Loren, for following the foreign route. For just as the Spanish word flacido sounds less flabby than the English 'flabby', names like Yaya (Greek) sound younger and peppier than the G-word. The German Oma has become commonplace even in non-German families.

Another complicating factor these days is that with life spans longer and marriage spans shorter, many kids have more than four grandparents. So what's a poor toddler to do, when he has to identify each of them with a different moniker? The simplest solution here might be going with Grandma Jan, Grandma Fran, Grandpa Dan. Yes, even if it does include that dreaded word.

Because in the end, whether you're Bubby or Bappa, Glam-ma or even Grandma, we all know it's not about the coolness of the name. It's all about relishing your special role in the life of a precious little one — and that doesn't change no matter what you call it.