I don’t imagine most adult singletons experience insufferable conflict over whether or not to invite a sibling to their birthday party. Most likely, singletons have the luxury of celebrating their special day without having to share it with a sister or brother. However, the likelihood that many same age siblings celebrate the majority of their birthdays together is quite probable. Shared birthday parties are expectable, practical, and natural. So, birthdays can be very emotionally challenging for some adult twin pairs […]
Category Archives: Adolescence
Two for the Price of One: Not Always a Good Deal
Often, parents ask me to weigh in on various issues that impinge upon the lives of their multiple-birth children, such as a school issue, a behavioral problem, or a policy issue. Recently, a woman contacted me via my website to ask me to write a letter to the administrators of her identical sons’ school regarding a specific school policy that discriminates against multiples. Although to some people her concern may appear trivial in the larger scheme of things, it is […]
When the Bough Breaks
I realize I have written about this issue previously; however, each time this situation comes to my attention, I become terribly upset and feel as if I must educate others to take heed. A concerned mother of 15-year-old identical twins called me to ask for help regarding her daughters’ social woes and difficulties. She explained that they have no friends. Both girls feel as if they have made attempts to connect with their peers, but to no avail. When they […]
Twins and Uncompromising Compromise
Recently I have been thinking about the issue of twins and compromise because the subject has come up in a few of my patient sessions. Certainly I have learned about my own compromising behaviors as a twin and as an adult in my personal therapy. I recognized that my overriding inclination to compromise too quickly was rooted in my twinship, as well as in the dynamics of my family of origin. Growing up, my twin sister and I attempted to […]
What Did You Ever Do for Me?
I work with a pair of identical twin women whose individual temperaments are as diverse as night and day. One of the twins, Sue, is a school nurse, and the other, Ellen, crunches numbers at a food warehouse business. Much of the focus of our work has been articulating the differences in the way they think, feel, and approach life. At times, Sue becomes frustrated when she expresses her needs and feelings because Ellen has difficulty grasping abstract concepts such […]