First of all, let me offer a big thanks to Kori and Myra for letting me share my experiences on raising multiples with you here. I hope to visit here regularly to offer my own insights on raising twins (because yes, it is different than raising singleton siblings), as well as share research on multiples and other interesting news! Generally I blog in baby, (as well as food, and home schooling) and have actually written quite a few things about having multiples in the infancy stage. But we are now at a very old 30 months and are slowly growing out of diapers and all those other little things that mark infancy. It is time to graduate! If you have any questions about twins and multiples, please feel free to PM me or leave a comment below.
Twins ARE Different
There is a dual dynamic in raising twins and I think to some extent my situation is unique in that I have other children. There is one side that says they must form their own identity, separate from their twin. We parents of multiples (POMs) are told that they are no more different than regular siblings, especially fraternal twins. And yet, they are twins. That is defining, and I think to just ignore it is a disservice in raising them. Being a twin is as defining as being the oldest or youngest in the family.
With that said, I have seen some real differences in how twins behave verses singletons, particularly socially. In talking with other POMs, the things I’ve noted seem to be a common denominator and seem to be related to the fact that they are twins and not that they are the youngest in this family or that they have other siblings.
In my next few blogs in talking about multiples, I am going to delve more deeply into the social development of multiples and what that means for parents. Thanks again to Kori and Myra for letting me share here.
Some of my other articles on multiples:
Ode to Twins and Super Twins: 28 Interesting Facts