Recently, I attended a production of the play My Sister at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. Written by playwright Janet Schlapkohl, My Sister is a story about identical twin sisters who come to Berlin in the 1930s to realize their dream of becoming a successful actress and writer team. Emily and Elizabeth Hinkler are identical twin sisters and superb actresses in this searing drama. The character Matilde suffers from what appears to be cerebral palsy. Nonetheless, she is a […]
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Give Credit Where and When It’s Due
A friend of mine shared a story about her seven-year-old twin girls that highlights how important it is to enlighten people who work with twins about appropriate management of the twin connection. She told me that one of her daughters clearly excels in the gymnastics class that she attends with her twin sister. Mom is convinced that the gym teacher has not moved her daughter to the next level because her twin sister has not demonstrated the required skill to […]
Guatemala Dreamin’
I recently returned from a glorious ten-day trip to Guatemala. The idea of the trip was sparked about a year and a half ago though an Internet exchange I had with a psychologist from Guatemala City researching twin issues. Beatriz Cadena de Schwank was treating an eight-year-old twin in her practice and sought a consultation. She belongs to a private mental health group that she founded with six other women colleagues about five years ago. Their practice is called Proyecto […]
Separate Classes, Different Lunch Boxes
Among the many interesting questions that were asked during my workshop and book presentation in Guatemala, there are a few that I’d like to write about in some detail. A mom of eight-year-old fraternal twin girls seemed puzzled by some behavior exhibited by her daughters. She explained how well each girl functions independently. They are in separate classes and have separate friends. So, when mom suggested that they each do a different afterschool activity, she was surprised by their reluctance […]
What’s on the Walls?
For those of you who are deciding upon a preschool placement for your twins, I want to share this beautiful article about what to look for when you visit different locations. Susan North, the author of this blog, is a parent educator who specializes in modeling mediation techniques and language to mitigate and manage conflict between children and their siblings, friends, and parents. The article was originally posted on her blog page and is reprinted here with permission. February 3, […]