Your twins may long to have their own identity, which separates them from each other. Unfortunately, they are often seen as a package. This could limit the chances of developing their own individual personality and interests. As a result, your twins may experience some of these difficulties as they grow up:
- May feel that they have less freedom in acting and making decisions on their own as they think they should be the same.
- More difficulty developing their own individualised personality and interests.
- Finding it harder to develop themselves as they may feel that they are often put in comparison to their twin.
As a parent, you are encouraged to raise your twins as individuals from a young age so that they can go through various developmental processes to differentiate and develop the ability to optimally express themselves as individuals. Here are some tips to help encourage individuality in your twins.
What You Can Do
Encourage individuality in your twins. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to raise your twins to be unique and wonderful individuals.
Twins should not be seen as a package. You may be captivated by the novelty of a ‘double’. Start seeing your twins as two persons, rather than one.
Dedicate one-on-one time. Make effort everyday to cuddle, talk or enjoy an activity alone with each child. Your twins will feel that they are being listened to as one person as there is individual attention, and you can also better appreciate them as individuals.
Adapt your parenting according to the needs of individual child. Parent your child in ways that suit them best and address their needs independently.
Never compare the twins. Just like other children, your twins may develop at their individual pace and time, each with his own talents, which they will need to explore for themselves.
Find out what their interests are. Twins can have very different interests and even preferences for varied things. Encourage them to pursue their own individual interests, hobbies and friends.
Praise them individually. This is part and parcel of encouraging individual interests in them. They will appreciate your assurance in the things that they do by themselves.
Consider enrolling your twins in separate classes or social activities. This will help encourage them to meet other children while allowing them to explore what they love to do.
Comments