quick clicks

twins today articles

twins today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Mindy or Cindy?

The Art of Identifying Identicals

By Susan Kohl, Author of Twin Stories

I was at a basketball game recently with Max, one of my identical twin boys. A girl walked by him and said, "Bye, Max." I was momentarily thrilled that she knew which twin he was until I heard the dreaded, "or Sam." I asked Max if that happened often. He shrugged his shoulders and said "yes."

When I was researching my book Twin Stories (Wildcat Canyon Press, 2001), I asked dozens of sets of identical twins if they ever played tricks on people. The answer was surprising. Most of them said they were not the purveyors of mischievous behavior but rather the victims of mistaken identity.

Telling identical twins apart is often no easy task. It's especially difficult after birth. Fortunately for my husband, our extended families and me, one of my twins was born with a birthmark on his neck. Since it was technically more of a mole than a traditional birthmark, we made a quick assumption. "Mole" meant "Max." Life was simple – that is, until Max wore a collared shirt. Then we were in trouble.

One of the things we did, which is quite common, was to assign each twin a color. In our case, Sam usually wore clothes with green and Max with blue. We also paid quite a bit of attention to their personalities. As many moms will attest, twins generally develop a personality in the womb. In the case of my twins, Max seemed to be pretty calm but Sam was another story – very active. Even at delivery, Sam was the one who required more attention. These traits still continue today. Max is easygoing and Sam needs just an extra bit of attention, whether he's injured, sad or full of gusto.

Want to see more?

• Twin Sharing: Making the Most of Your Space
• Two Much Fun! Games and Play for 1-Year-Old Twins
• Naming Twins: Double Trouble?
• Talk about it!

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.