Daughter embarrassed to be a twin?...

[kdryan]

I'm not sure how many parents of twins visit here, but if there are, have you run into this? We're having a garage sale this weekend and Olivia mentioned that if we told anyone who came that she was a twin, she would be embarrassed. The wife and I have never been shy about telling people our squirts are twins, and she may be getting a little tired of it or something. Having twins to us is a blast and more than we could have ever hoped for, so I guess maybe we're a little to exuberant about it sometimes.

It really kind of bugs me that being a twin would be a problem for her...


Kevin

 

[MomoJA]

I don't have twins. I'm not a twin. I had friends who were twins, both girls but fraternal. I have a niece and nephew who are twins. But none of this gives me any experience.

However, I know in the last school where I worked, which was a small k-12 where no one was anonymous, the practice was to separate twins whenever possible because it was felt that they would be allowed more independence.

I think it would be really cool to be a twin. I always wanted to have twins. But I guess it might sometimes become what you are identified as, sort of like so-in-so's sister. Chances are if she weren't a twin, there would be something else that would be a problem for her. It might be the age, or who knows. She'll probably change her mind a few times as she grows.

P.S. My twin niece and nephew, are also 9. And a bit of trivia that you may already know, boy/girl twins are called Phoenix and Dragon in China, and are considered very auspicious.

 

[Father_0f_7]

Well, we have twins, and I'm a twin. This happens every once in a while, not too big of a deal if you can figure out why she's feeling that way.

With Billy it was because he didn't feel like he was his own person, he wasn't really so much embarassed as he was annoyed. For instance if we're talking to someone about one of the older kids they will say something like "oh, yeah Cassie is so good" or something like that...when we talk about Kaitlyn and Billy no one ever uses their names it's always "the twins" or "the youngest".

We always only got them one huge birthday cake (feel bad about that now) instead of two. We didn't really realize how what we (and other people) were saying/doing was effecting them.

I think your best bet would be to ask her why she feels the way she does. Remind her that she has a special bond with her brother that most people will never know...and that means something.

 

[singledad]

Well, we have twins, and I'm a twin. This happens every once in a while, not too big of a deal if you can figure out why she's feeling that way.

With Billy it was because he didn't feel like he was his own person, he wasn't really so much embarassed as he was annoyed. For instance if we're talking to someone about one of the older kids they will say something like "oh, yeah Cassie is so good" or something like that...when we talk about Kaitlyn and Billy no one ever uses their names it's always "the twins" or "the youngest".

We always only got them one huge birthday cake (feel bad about that now) instead of two. We didn't really realize how what we (and other people) were saying/doing was effecting them.

I think your best bet would be to ask her why she feels the way she does. Remind her that she has a special bond with her brother that most people will never know...and that means something.

I agree 100%. When I read the OP, my first thought was she's sick of being one half of "the twins". I'm a twin, and I can tell you that cool as it is, it gets old to always be half of a unit, instead of being your own person...

 

[lisayvonnem]

I don't have twins. But I always think twins are adorable

Lisa

 

[Mommy_Colleen]

I have cousins that we're twins. The other twin told me before that she wish she's normal and that she doesn't have a twin. It's sad that she thinks she's not normal because she has a twin.

 

[christinamarie]

Are they fraternal or identical twins?