by With twins in the house a big point of contention will be sharing.
The easy way for you as the parent would be to get two of everything.
However, this surely won’t work all the time and definitely doesn’t build character. And as we all know, your job as a dad, of course, is to “build character.” Right?
One key to a peaceful and happy home is teaching your twins how to share from a very early age.
Turn Timer
One trick that worked for us was the turn timer.
We used a portable egg timer as the “turn timer”. When our girls would fight over something we’d pull out the timer, declare that it was so-and-so’s turn now and that it would be the other’s turn when the timer went ding.
Over time, our girls got used to this pattern and even started to self-regulate with their own turn timer by declaring in a loud voice, “Ding. My turn.”
Distract
If taking turns isn’t going as smoothly as you’d like, then try the old distraction technique. Say, “Hey, look at that!” or pull out another toy or delicious food item to distract the sad, I-didn’t-get-what-I-want twin.
Wait a Minute
Especially when your twins are young, their attention span is extremely short. This means two things: First, set the turn timer for a very short time. Second, don’t be surprised if the item they were fighting over is discarded and your twins have moved on to something else rather quickly.
The good news about sharing is that typically, your twins will be sharing better and earlier when compared to other singletons their same age.
(RELATED: Expecting twins? Avoid these 4 critical mistakes expectant twin parents make.)
Picture by Nate Davis
Joe, this is an excelent tip! I’m from Brazil, and we are at the 30th week of pregnancy (sorry for my English). Me and my husband are reading all the emails with a lot of interest, and you always have a nice word (although, realistic) to say. Thank you very much for this great service you’re doing for us, special parents chosen to have twins!!! 😀
@Daniela – I’m glad to help! Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy.
hi, joe.im adah from malaysia. ive 2 years old identical twin girls. i didnt expect that ill have twin until 35 weeks of pregnancy.:) joe, tq for the tips.
@Adah – wow! Not knowing you’re going to have twins until 35 weeks is a big surprise!
Nice tips Joe. I agree with you on not getting pairs of the same toy. At one point, it will have a bad influence on their character. Keeping a timer is a good point! It works well with my twins too.
@Janani – that’s great that the time has worked well with your twins too!