If you have other children in your family when your twins are born, you have the extra challenge of preparing them for the new additions.
I’ve talked before about how to prepare your older children for twins. One key component of that is setting expectations of what life will be like with twins.
Words and discussions can only go so far in these preparations.
I was excited to get copies of some children’s books specifically written to help siblings prepare for twins.
The publisher of I’m Having Twins and My Twins are Coming Home sent me a copy of each of these books to review.
They are written from the perspective of the older sibling. In fact, these books are written by Paris Morris, who was the older sibling when her twin siblings arrived.
Although our twins are already a part of our family, I read these books with our kids and they liked them, the twins and their brothers alike. The approval meter merited many repeat readings.
Each book walks through what the older sibling is seeing, feeling, and thinking and how the twins fit in with her life.
I’m Having Twins explores a 3-year old girl’s adjustment to the reality that twins will be joining her family. View the twin pregnancy through her eyes and see how she comes to terms with the twins’ pending arrival.
My Twins are Coming Home focuses on Paris’ experience once her twin sisters were born: seeing them in the NICU, waiting for them to come home, dealing with their arrival, etc.
(RELATED: Check out the Dad's Guide to Twins Youtube channel for additional helpful twin tips and tricks videos.)
These books are short and fully illustrated and will fit nicely with your other children’s books. Check them out on amazon.com (see I’m Having Twins and My Twins are Coming Home) and use the “look inside” feature to see if you feel the illustrations and wording are a good match for your kids.
These two books are part of a series so if you like them, there are other books chronicling other milestones in a child’s journey with new twins in the family.
Preparing older children for your twins is vital to a smooth transition to an instantly bigger family. Try one of these books by Paris Morris and your kids will have a better picture of what to expect.