Multiple sets of twins in reception class

[Dixy30]

Hello
Bit of an odd one this.
My child's no1 school place choice for a class of 30 children will definitely include 4 sets of twins (all have older siblings at school) plus 2 other ages have applied!

It is a one form entry school so 30 places, with one teacher and one TA. Of the 8 guaranteed places, 6 are boys and all born may- August.

Any idea what the LA will do as surely will require additional support for these children as twins and boys esp are sometimes known to be a bit behind?

Such an unusual situation!

There are 6 sets of twins in my dds year, although 4 form entry.
Op seriously fine something else to think about

You will also find twins are used to sharing, taking it in turns, waiting for their turn and obviously socialising with children their own age. All benefits to starting school.

Well I'm a twin and don't think I had any special treatment, except at secondary school where, after getting As and A*s for my 11 GCSEs I was given some coaching for my uni interview at Oxford.

My own dtds were slow walking and didn't talk until 2years old - now at 2.5 I can't shut them up. They are better at sharing than other 2 year olds and used to having to share my time so will probably be less needy and demanding on a teacher. They also dress themselves which dd1 at 5.5 is still not brilliant at. You are making a stupid sweeping statement and clearly know very little about twins!

It's these kind of half-baked, ill-informed ignorant notions and opinions (fortunately held by a small minority of parents) that send me running screaming from the playground. You are showing lots of potential to be a nightmare parent and, more to the point, really need to know that discussing things with someone who works at the school really isn't acceptable. Please don't infect your child with your idiocy and prejudices.

I agree with the comments re sharing. Teachers have consistently said that my children are a pleasure to have in the class, and I think it is because twins learn very early about sharing, taking turns, giving space to others etc. In some ways I think my chidlren are less independent (because they always have each other) but in other ways they are more independent (as I often leave them to their own devices while I get on with other things... even at four they could entertain themselves happily for a day if I was ill in bed!).

However, the OP is, in my view, just re-iterating a popular notion. It's not her fault that it's wrong. The other really annoying popular notion about twins is that they MUST be separated in school. This persists even though all the evidence and advice now is that the decision to separate/keep twins together should be made on a case by case basis in consultation with the parents. Lots of schools persist in this, even some very good ones. It really irks me. People aren't stupid when they believe in separation, just old-fashioned and ill-informed.

I also wonder if there is one difficulty with twins in a class, which is that - and I'm speaking only from my own experience - twins can have a very close relationship - so my girls are best friends, and it would be very hard indeed for any child to become a new best friend. From my childrens' point of view - it's great, as they have loads of friends, but have so far been spared the drama that has affected other children in their class (they can always turn to each other when things go wrong). They even share a best friend. However, I sometimes wonder what it's like for the third child coming into their pair - that child might want one sole best friend, and yet is always forced to share and knows in her heart that in terms of loyalty she must come second. It must be odd, and I could see that it might be potentially difficult. But not a major problem.

It isn't a popular notion,I don't know anybody with such a ridiculous opinion.

Re keepings twins together,sorry I disagree.Twins aren't special they simply shared a womb and need to make their own friends.Any issues re separation ime often come from parents and not the twins themselves.I have twins and a singleton.My twins deserve no more special treatment than my singleton.

I have several twins in my life,none have batted an eyelid re being in separate classes,why on earth would they?They have no other hurdles to deal with than any singleton joining a class without their siblings.

My twins are separate. It is the best thing in the world for them. I often get raised eyebrows from people, but they are v competitive and it upsets them when one does better, or they rub it in when one does worse etc. The same class would be a nightmare. If we ever move house, I would have to find a school with enough classes to take them both separately.

The tiny village primary I work in has two sets of year six twins, one set of year five twins and two sets of siblings where one is year five and one year six. Mixed yr 5/6 class. No problems. All but one of the Year 6 children passed the 11+. Certainly no issues there!

My cousin has a set of twin girls who both got four straight As at A level. My mother and uncle were middle ablity, but both of them have done well in life. I have met two sets of twins with learning difficulties when I worked at a special school, however I don't believe that being twin caused their learning difficulties. Many learning difficulties like autism are genetic.

Anetotally twins that I have met have represented the full range of the IQ spectrum. Being a twin does not make someone super intelligent nor does it make them stupid.

"The same class would be a nightmare. If we ever move house, I would have to find a school with enough classes to take them both separately."

My granparents choose to send their twins to seperate schools from the age of seven for that exact reason.

That's a thought, reallytired, but a bit hideous for the school run!

"That's a thought, reallytired, but a bit hideous for the school run!"

In the 1940s no one "did the school run". Kids were expected to get to school by themselves. (With the possibilty of unexploded bombs on route as well! Less risk of being run over though.) My uncle went to a boys school and my mother went to a girls school.

Ha ha. I can imagine. Nowadays, I'd have to get one of them in breakfast club (if there was one). Arghhh. It's putting me right off moving.

Eh? WTVF are you on about OP?

I have twin boys, end of May birthday. One is dyslexic so has a little extra support with literacy from a TA but otherwise they are just like any normal kids in the class (well I think they are special and brilliant obviously as they are my sons).

I really don't get why the twins you are anticipating being in your kids class would require any extra support. Their class teacher has always coped just fine with them and the other twins in their class as have the class teachers in all the other classes with twins in them. They are seen as individuals not just twins fgs.

What an odd thing to ask.

FWIW my twins have a kid with severe & mutliple learning difficulties in their class. This child is fully supported with a full time TA and her presence in the class means they've all learnt makaton and are learning BSL, have a really healthy attitude to 'disablity' and have learnt not to judge anyone by outward appearance. Perhaps if there is a child in your kids class (a twin or othrwise) with additional needs your child will be enriched.

What a ridiculous statement to make! There were 3 sets of twins in my DTDs' reception class, one set left in Y2 and another set joined the following year. None of them have learning difficulties, in fact of the 8 children in the 'challenge' group (i.e. going for highest levels) half are twins.

My elder daughter's class had three sets of twins (out of 27 originally, I think). I don't think it's had any particular effect on the class. One set (identical boys) left at the end of the Reception, the other two (both boy/girl pairs) are still there in Y6. They span the ability range, and I haven't noticed any issues with the social dynamic.

I think it's a reasonable question to wonder whether a large proportion of kids of one gender will have an effect, though. My younger daughter's class is very boy-heavy (17 boys, 6 girls) and I think that does make a difference, as boys en masse do tend to behave differently from girls en masse. Luckily my daughter is a bit of a tomboy so is happy to hang out with boys as well as girls, but I think the more 'girly girls' sometimes find the pool of potential friends a bit limiting.

"Any idea what the LA will do as surely will require additional support for these children as twins and boys esp are sometimes known to be a bit behind?"

I have an August born boy in Reception, should I be petitioning the LA for additional 1:1 support for him on the basis of this? Also, I'm an August-born twin, very prem and later in the month than DS was born. No additional support was offered, but a degree and a MSc appeared despite this.

The only part of your OP I can sympathise with is that all the twins are in different classes, as some twins work better when split into separate classes, which couldn't happen with one form entry.

The rest is barking, sorry, and the staff at the school really should have better things to do than worry about the impact of twins on their class.

Just to say again: please google research on developmental problems with twins. There IS, in the literature, an association with slower verbal development (for e.g.) and being a multiple (whether this is because they are multiples, or because parents spend less time talking to them as individuals or because they are more likely to be pre-term). So, I really don't think people should be bashing the OP for saying that she has a concern. It doesn't mean she's right, but she's not barmy to ask... there is a culture of thinking this way about twins, even if it's not correct (and people say all sorts of bllcks about twins).

There are many exceptions - my children are exceptions - and it might be that the research is wrong, and the children who don't lag, aren't exceptions - they are the norm. But the point is that the OP's views (or those of the teachers) are not completely nuts. They may be wrong - but they are coming from somewhere, even if it is somewhere that is based on outdated, and incorrect research.

I generally don't base my life on what Google has to say,it contains a lot of utter shite.

Oh and I would gave thought if there was a problem re speech and twin boys worth acknowledging both my sister and I would have had it mentioned by health professionals but neither has.

Both sets(all 4 boys)were reading paperbacks at 5 and are all extremely articulate.

Speech delay risk- tosh,never ever heard of it.

Not liking this twin boy prejudice it's not nice. They don't argue more than other kids either so I doubt very much they'd bring arguments from home in.

Google is a device to get access to research. It depends entirely on how good the person googling is at sifting information.

All I'm saying is that statistically it has been thought to be the case that twins, and twin boys in particular, have delayed development.
I'm not saying it's true, or the research is up to date, I'm just saying the OP is not out of order for thinking it might be true.

e.g.
www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a438
or this, which acknowledges there is an assumption of delay, but then goes on to say that where there is delay, this is not particularly due to being a twin.
twins.wjh.harvard.edu/delaylit.html

Mine were born at 40 weeks just after term starts so that seems to have ensured they don't have the problems premature babies might have or being young in the class.

The poster is correct that twins often are a little behind and that children born late in the school year do worse at school.

Sorry I think that is tosh,I was never,ever told that.

Prem babies may have a delay,not all twins are prem,mine certainly aren't.

You can not sift through Google and seize on any old stats as gospel(there are stats for everything) and you can certainly not write off children you don't even know on Google stats or gossip.

If there was a credible risk twin mums would be warned,they aren't.

Really unpleasant thread and op was out of order.

You are warned that twins may come early but sorry re twins likely to have speech development probs or boys in particular you most certainly are not.

Many singletons are prem,perhaps the op should investigate any prem singleton summer births and start getting her knickers in a twist about them.

i disagree. the HFEA had a big drive to have single embryos implanted to reduce the risk of twins (they cast twins solely in terms of risk which I found objectionable) and some of those risks were not just risks to the mothers but risks to the baby - including prematurity and from there possible developmental delays. There is an increased risk of prematurity - that doesn't mean every baby is born premature.

And here is TAMBA (the twins and multiple birth association) on language development. Which says there is a difference, sometimes, but not significant and resolves early. (And again, not true in all cases, and definitely not true in loads of kids I know, including mine).

TAMBA
"Language
A few areas of development can be slightly different in multiples, and one of these is language. On average, pre-school twins are about six months behind singletons in their language development. This is only an average: many multiples have no delay, and among those that do it is generally minor and resolves by the time they are 6 to 8 years old.
Language delay in any child can be caused by premature birth, low birth weight, siblings close in age and being part of a large family – and all of these factors are more common in multiple birth families."

Actually, the stuff about boys is probably part of this wider stuff about boys in general lagging behind girls. I am fed up of mums of boys telling me 'it's a boy thing' about their boy. I know there's a whole debate about that too. But I've always been a bit skeptical...

I don't think the OP was writing off children. She was making a sweeping generalisation based on a prevailing opinion, that happens to be wrong, but is still prevailing (at least among parents of singletons. It's not a view twin parents share, at least judging by this thread).