Got a section on twins in my research project....

[threebob]

I teach 4 sets of twins (pre school and special needs music) and am currently doing a paper on "family" music groups. Obviously my 4 mums will have opinions but I would like to get a wider understanding.

1. I notice a lot of you long for twin discounts - what would you think fair? (I do give a generous one BTW)

2. For those of you with identicals - what steps do you take so that teachers can tell them apart. (one always wears a red top, and the ones I teach in school wear name badges (uniform plus a mother who puts them in identical underwear and shoes every day)

3)What is the single hardest thing for you going to a group?

I know you are all busy, so thanks.

The hardest thing about going to a group is only having one pair of hands!

As to discount... as cheap as chips would be good...

Mine are non identical so can't help there.

You could of course borrow them for as long as necessary for your research.... I'm thinking 18 years.............

Thanks for your responses. I like the idea of the initial badge - I wore one as a kid myself (not a twin).

One of the things I like about teaching twins (not done triplets yet!) is that mum can't help and so the children get to do things for themselves. I take ds (only child) along and because I am teaching he gets the same input as the other children from me. I think it's been good for him not to have me breathing down his neck in class.

I charge $4 for one child and $5 for two in thhe same class. Some people have had 3 children in all and I have still charged $5. I don't make a lot of money in the class where 1/2 the class is 2 families, but I have other classes full of precious first borns to make up for it.

1. That sounds like a v generous discount, 3b- most impressed by that. Have had a few really negative Jeez, you greedy cow, are you taking the p type responses to asking about discounts for twins in my time. And I only asked when I was really skint- having v young twins and having to spend double on practically everything does bite and a discount does make a difference. As they've got older I rarely remember/bother to ask actually as their "twinness" seems less and less important in some ways, though it means the world in others. (Actually, I am trying to get them signed up for a football club atm so that they can learn to lose more gracefully, er, I mean acquire some skills so that they don't lose so often, or something. You have reminded me to ask about discounts!)

2)Mine are non id boys and to me (and I think to most people who know them well) are and always have been as different in looks and temperament as mumsnet and google. However, they do still get mixed up by teachers and children at their school and I have always tried to dress them differently. Their school has a uniform but is quite flexible so I buy tops in a range of styles and let them choose. I have little washing prowess which means that there are rarely two identical tops clean at the same time anyway. When they were very small I did quite like them to match- ie same styles different colours type idea- but that faded after the 1st 18 months or so. I think they would love name badges but in their case (I hope) they are probably not necessary.

3. Single hardest thing now for me is when one of the boys is significantly better at a given activity than the other as they keep very close tabs on each other and are both infuriatingly competitive where each other are concerned. When they were little I remember practical things being worst- having to fold up buggies and shepherd two toddlers single handedly to the right bit of the building, type stuff.

hth

Re competitiveness: I have noticed when one twin is good at something in the class the other mucks about or just drifts off - like they can't both be good at the same thing. Mixed age siblings don't seem to do this.