to expect DTS's class teacher to be able to tell them apart?!

[MadDash]

They are in year 5 and, yes they are very similar looking (wouldn't say identical), but have massively different personalities. Their class teacher, however, cannot tell them apart. She's been teaching them since september now and I would have expected her to have got to know them by now. Or AIBU?

YABalittleU, My id boys are now in yr6, so have been at the school for 7 yrs, they are totally different in personality, wear slightly different uniform (one wears zip up fleece, the other always wears sweatsirt, have different haircuts and still get called by each others names, the teachers are now used to them saying "No, I'm **". There are only 110 pupils in their school, but there are 4 sets of twins in their class of 20! My 2 are just used to it by now, and just accept it as the norm. The teachers apologise, but they say that in the heat of the moment, it doesnt always register who is who immediatly. I know your boys are still young, but they will soon learn to speak up for themselves and let the teachers know who is who, mine did!

WRT to telling baby twins apart, as a student nurse on a postnatal ward years ago I was given a bottle of red nail polish by a midwife and asked to go and paint one big toenail on one of each set of twins, and write it down for the parents so they would know that for e.g. Jessie has a painted toenail and Chloe doesn't, Daniel has a painted nail and Devon doesn't, etc. We had two sets of triplets come through so one got a red nail, one a pink and one unpainted. Worked pretty well, you can't wash it off!

No use for kids in yr 5 though, I assume they wear shoes to school...

Not much help but I went to high school with twin girls and it took me three years to be able to distinguish between them

At least if they are in the same class they can't swap around like my friends did

I know they aren't related but I can only tell ant and dec apart because ant always stands on the left. Perhaps your twins could do that.

Up until they were around 6months, DT1 always wore shades of green and DT2 shades of blue. That's how I can tell them apart in photos! Sadly variation in uniform isn't an option, being in different classes isn't an option and hair cuts is do able but uniform rules mean hair has to be above the collar so that would also be a bit tricky! TBH accidentally getting the name wrong doesn't bother me, it's just the fact that the teacher doesn't remember which twin has done what over the day and says it's the other.

MadDash My Mum left our hosp bracelets on until they threatened to cut off circulation so she could tell us apart I was 3lbs lighter then my Dsis it was obvious looking at pics who was who

If you needed to dress them in different colours to be able to tell them apart in photos then it is going to be hard for the teacher too.

I'm guessing private school from the class sizes and strict uniform? Is there somewhere else, with 2 classes or more per year that you could send them so that they can be in different classes in future? Surely by now it is time they had a chance to be a bit independent?

I could not tell my friends twin daughters apart, and neither could anyone else except for herself and her dh. She was constantly irked that people could not tell them apart when she said they looked different. Not to outsiders they don't. They looked alike to the rest of the world. She always had the same haircut on them.
I am curios now, I wonder how they grew up though...if they have different hair or perhaps tattoo's, piercings, weight?

*curious I meant.

It is annoying op.

At least in year 5 they cannot switch lessons like me and my DSis did... I went to her english and she went to mine! the teacher in dsis lesson had v bad eyesight so did mine! it was funny!

Go for different haircuts and the problem will disappear. The solution is in your own hands.

There are a million and one possible styles that fulfill the above the collar rule.

There are several sets of ID twins in my family & they have all made merry with it, swapping classes, dates, jobs, etc., when fancy took them. Several stories of being told off for being in wrong place, too.

Family gatherings, first thing, My aunts & cousins used to pull me aside to ask me which twin was wearing what so they could be sure. They were family we saw regularly & still needed help.

They ought to be in different classes. Why aren't they?

I think you need to help the teacher. I'm not sure how putting one in one colour t-shirt and the other in another helps, because then the poor teacher has to remember which colour t-shirt means which. In my DC's class there are identical twins girls. The one with a double consonant in her name wears two bunches, and the one with no double consontant wears one - that really helps.

YAB a bit U, but I do understand where you are coming from. My Dsis has identical twins in her class with names that are one letter different - think Ben and Benj. I think she has learned the difference but does mix them up sometimes.

I think YABU and I say that as a mother of non identical twin girls. Even they were confused with each other sometimes when I dressed them the same, despite having different hair colour. If you make an effort to change their appearance by different haircuts and then the teacher can't remember which is which you would have a point, but at the moment you seem to be just indulging in a spot of the UKs favourite passtime, taking offence.

Alibaba, they'll be moving at the end of year 6 anyway so I think it would be very disruptive to move them to a school with a two form entry at this point.

I have ID twins of a similar age. I think it is fine for people to get the wrong name sometimes (most people often pick the wrong name for someone even if there is no twin confusion). What is harder to accept is when they mistake the person (rather than the name). For example we had times at parents evening or reading reports when we were certain they were talking about the wrong one - and that shows they didn't really know them.

Often you find people can tell them apart when they are together, but not when they are on their own. Their friends sometimes ask them are you A or B. But somehow you expect the responsible adult (teacher, TA etc) to take a little time to work out some reliable way to tell them apart, or of they aren't certain to ask !

throckenholt, that's exactly what I mean. Well put!