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The Art of Parenting Twins: The Unique Joys and Challenges of Raising Twins and Other Multiples
"CONGRATULATIONS--YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!"
Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.
Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as
- Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's future
And much more--including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.
Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.
Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as
- Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's future
And much more--including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.
- GenresParentingNonfiction
352 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 1999
6 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 31, 2012
One of the best twins books I've read. I have always been looking for a book that explains a lot of the psychology between twins interactions and how you can gently help them become distinct individuals. I love that the author recognizes that having twins is a very different experience than having singletons. Not harder...just different. There was a lot of interesting information in here that helped me understand my children and their behavior so much better. I hope that I can take this knowledge and better help them flourish.
August 26, 2010
Adapted from a review at twinpanic.com.
It has a lot of good information. And yet... I find enough about this book off-putting that I can't give it a whole-hearted recommendation. For example, the author (who refers to herself in the first person singular, even though there are two listed on the cover) rejects the terms "identical twin" and "fraternal twin". Why? Well, "identical twins" aren't completely identical, and "fraternal twins" aren't necessarily brothers. Accurate, but tedious. Don't get me wrong -- I like the terms "monozygotic" and "dizygotic" as much as the next parent, but there's no need to get strident about it.
Other annoyances -- use of the term "co-twin" instead of "twin" and frequent references to "Twin Services", an organization she runs. I know that organization is the source of much of the practical advice in the book, but it feels like an advertisement.
I may be going out on a limb, but I found this part irritating:
But it's awkward to refer to "twins and higher-order multiples" throughout the book, so we'll use the term twins to refer to all multiples.
Why did I find this irritating? Because after that, there are repeated references to triplets sprinkled throughout the book. If you're going to go to the trouble of saying you'll call everybody twins, it's really jarring to read the triplet references. I'll think, "Do I really need to read this part?", "Shouldn't parents of triplets get their own books?", and "Twins don't seem so bad by comparison."
Most memorable response to a stranger's question: this time the response comes from a twin himself.
"If someone says, 'Are you twins?' I'll say, 'I am, but he's not.'"
Parents of twins can adapt this to, "One of them is identical, and the other's fraternal, but I can never remember which is which."
All in all, there's solid information contained in this book, if you can get past the style. I couldn't.
It has a lot of good information. And yet... I find enough about this book off-putting that I can't give it a whole-hearted recommendation. For example, the author (who refers to herself in the first person singular, even though there are two listed on the cover) rejects the terms "identical twin" and "fraternal twin". Why? Well, "identical twins" aren't completely identical, and "fraternal twins" aren't necessarily brothers. Accurate, but tedious. Don't get me wrong -- I like the terms "monozygotic" and "dizygotic" as much as the next parent, but there's no need to get strident about it.
Other annoyances -- use of the term "co-twin" instead of "twin" and frequent references to "Twin Services", an organization she runs. I know that organization is the source of much of the practical advice in the book, but it feels like an advertisement.
I may be going out on a limb, but I found this part irritating:
But it's awkward to refer to "twins and higher-order multiples" throughout the book, so we'll use the term twins to refer to all multiples.
Why did I find this irritating? Because after that, there are repeated references to triplets sprinkled throughout the book. If you're going to go to the trouble of saying you'll call everybody twins, it's really jarring to read the triplet references. I'll think, "Do I really need to read this part?", "Shouldn't parents of triplets get their own books?", and "Twins don't seem so bad by comparison."
Most memorable response to a stranger's question: this time the response comes from a twin himself.
"If someone says, 'Are you twins?' I'll say, 'I am, but he's not.'"
Parents of twins can adapt this to, "One of them is identical, and the other's fraternal, but I can never remember which is which."
All in all, there's solid information contained in this book, if you can get past the style. I couldn't.
September 18, 2014
I enjoyed this book. It had some good thoughts for me to consider as my twins get older. However, I didn't feel there was anything so earth-shattering that I couldn't have figured it out with common sense.
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January 26, 2010Since I will always take something free, I found two books at the library about twins. Not sure if it will be helpful or not, but hey, it was free!
May 18, 2009
I really liked this book. I would totally tell anyone who is having twins to read it. It helps to calm some of the fears and answers a lot of questions.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews