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Raising Twins: What Parents Want to Know
Raising Twins guides you through the physical, emotional, and cognitive developmental differences and challenges specific to twins. Straightforward and reassuring, this book addresses the key issues that impact twins from babyhood all the way through
- GenresParentingNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2000
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 23, 2009
From the minute I found out I was pregnant with twins, during the 9 months I carried them and their first 2 years, I never read any parenting books particular to twins. Having one toddler already and gotten through the first two years of my first daughters life with some other helpful parenting books, I figured that I had indeed read it all. In addition, I am a twin myself (girl/girl twins) and have always said that I feel very emotionally equipped to raise my twin girls. However, when at the library last week, I saw this book on a desk top and decided to check it out and see if it was relevant and I found it very educational since it touches upon the emotional aspect of raising twins and particularly, how never to compare them and to always raise them as two totally different individuals. My own twin and I were very much raised that way and it just reinforced so many things that my own parents did right in parenting us.
A great and relevant read for any parents of twins.
A great and relevant read for any parents of twins.
November 6, 2014
I think that this was the first book that I read on raising twins and it got me thinking a lot about supporting their individuality, however I think that some ideas inthe book are pretty drastic like putting them into separate classes and therefore encourage them to have different friends and shoes:) which is sane up to a point but still being a twin is special and we as parents should learn to balance that and their individuality when raising them.
June 12, 2018
I read this many years ago just after I found out we were having twins. I chose it because it was one of 3 books our library had on the topic. But I found this one helpful because it has a section addressing what older twins wanted their parents to know about being a twin. It helped me know what I needed to focus on as I parented even when they were young.
January 17, 2011
[This review originally appeared at twinpanic.com]
I haven't done any book reviews for twinpanic.com since the twins were born -- mainly because I haven't had a lot of time for reading. I kept thinking about one book that I had read after I had tired of the reviews and decided to go back and look at it again. Of course, I had read so many books, it was difficult to remember which one it was!
After much searching, I discovered that it was Raising Twins: What Parents Want to Know (And What Twins Want to Tell Them). Upon re-reading, I see that this book has several things going for it, and one major strike against it.
* The "What Twins Want to Tell Them" subtitle refers to the numerous interviews with twins sprinkled throughout the book. I am reminded of a one-credit course I took on the politics of East Asia when I was in college. The course had a succession of guest speakers, and midway through the class, my classmates pointed out that we finally got one who was Asian. In other words, it's all well and good to hear from the "experts", but interviews with actual twins give a much-needed perspective.
* The book takes a developmental approach. For various ages, it first explains what a child can normally be expected to do at that particular age, then it revisits the topic to tell you how twins may differ. It sounds obvious, but I found this approach to be unique among the books I've read, and it was a really good way to understand what to expect.
* Tied in with the previous point, the book goes into a lot of detail to explain why twins need certain things. In my review of Double Duty, I questioned the advice not to refer to your kids as "the twins" and suggested it was not that different from referring to any set of siblings as "the kids". Raising Twins, on the other hand, explained that twins in particular struggle with differentiating themselves from their "co-twin", so it can be particularly important to use their individual names, in a way it might not for singleton siblings.
* The book addresses twin development all the way through high school, which is somewhat unusual for a book about twins. Most such books handle the first year, or the first few years, and, I suppose, assume that parents who survive that long can handle things for themselves. I was interested to read how the twin relationship continues to play a role, even for teenagers.
Alas, the last positive point is also a negative point. Because the book describes development spanning a period of eighteen years, there is very little about each specific age. If I wanted to know a lot about six-month-old twins (I do! I do!), there was just one tidbit, although a very interesting one. (Children at this age may start to use transitional objects to comfort themselves when separated from their mother. For a twin, this object may actually be his or her sibling.) I can't imagine lugging this book around for eighteen years, only to pull it out every six months and remember what advice it has at this point. For this reason, I cannot give the book my fullest endorsement.
Twinometer: 8/10.
I haven't done any book reviews for twinpanic.com since the twins were born -- mainly because I haven't had a lot of time for reading. I kept thinking about one book that I had read after I had tired of the reviews and decided to go back and look at it again. Of course, I had read so many books, it was difficult to remember which one it was!
After much searching, I discovered that it was Raising Twins: What Parents Want to Know (And What Twins Want to Tell Them). Upon re-reading, I see that this book has several things going for it, and one major strike against it.
* The "What Twins Want to Tell Them" subtitle refers to the numerous interviews with twins sprinkled throughout the book. I am reminded of a one-credit course I took on the politics of East Asia when I was in college. The course had a succession of guest speakers, and midway through the class, my classmates pointed out that we finally got one who was Asian. In other words, it's all well and good to hear from the "experts", but interviews with actual twins give a much-needed perspective.
* The book takes a developmental approach. For various ages, it first explains what a child can normally be expected to do at that particular age, then it revisits the topic to tell you how twins may differ. It sounds obvious, but I found this approach to be unique among the books I've read, and it was a really good way to understand what to expect.
* Tied in with the previous point, the book goes into a lot of detail to explain why twins need certain things. In my review of Double Duty, I questioned the advice not to refer to your kids as "the twins" and suggested it was not that different from referring to any set of siblings as "the kids". Raising Twins, on the other hand, explained that twins in particular struggle with differentiating themselves from their "co-twin", so it can be particularly important to use their individual names, in a way it might not for singleton siblings.
* The book addresses twin development all the way through high school, which is somewhat unusual for a book about twins. Most such books handle the first year, or the first few years, and, I suppose, assume that parents who survive that long can handle things for themselves. I was interested to read how the twin relationship continues to play a role, even for teenagers.
Alas, the last positive point is also a negative point. Because the book describes development spanning a period of eighteen years, there is very little about each specific age. If I wanted to know a lot about six-month-old twins (I do! I do!), there was just one tidbit, although a very interesting one. (Children at this age may start to use transitional objects to comfort themselves when separated from their mother. For a twin, this object may actually be his or her sibling.) I can't imagine lugging this book around for eighteen years, only to pull it out every six months and remember what advice it has at this point. For this reason, I cannot give the book my fullest endorsement.
Twinometer: 8/10.
January 26, 2009
There weren't any earth shattering revelations in the book, but I was interested in the information on determining whether your twins should be separated in school or not. You'd think this would all be common sense but it seems that school districts are sometimes lacking that (shocking!) Otherwise, the biggest takeaway I got is to carve out time individually for your twins, and that the world is going to tend to view identical (looking) kids as a single unit, and you need to be aware and advocate for the kids.
February 15, 2012
So far I'm learning about toddler development of twins and how it differs from singletons. It's pretty interesting! I have a feeling I'm in for one wild ride! I think the interviews of adult twins are very interesting in this book. Gives a great perspective on the twin relationship and how it differs from other siblings. I think that there is some great insight to be gleened as a parent of twins.
August 2, 2015
I actually couldn't finish this book. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more having read it before my twins were born, but I started it when they were 6 months old or so. Honestly, it was a little dramatic and over the top.
Pregnant with twins? Probably a decent read. But if you already gave birth to them, I'm not sure how much more value you would get from this.
Pregnant with twins? Probably a decent read. But if you already gave birth to them, I'm not sure how much more value you would get from this.
October 18, 2015
This book has some good basic information. Maybe I would have liked it better if it was the first thing I'd ever read about twins, but a lot of what it said seemed like common sense to me. I didn't need the interviews with twins and parents of twins.
September 29, 2016
I particularly liked reading the contributions written by twins themselves about their experiences. Eye-opening! Nicely organized, too. I didn't read straight through, but I was able to find exactly what I needed when I needed it.
April 4, 2009
Good insight, but a little dramatic I think.
January 30, 2016
Do you have anxiety about having twins? No? Read this book and you will have all the anxiety, fear and stress in the world.
April 14, 2016
I didn't find this book very useful, largely because its approach to parenthood is very different from mine.
February 28, 2013
This book was very general and did not give much advice or insight. It was obvious information.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews