Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Multiples' Interactions

This cartoon was sent to me by the boys' uncle Garret, it has nothing to do with this post but it was too funny not to include!


Under the subheading 'Multiples' Interactions' the book Mothering Multiples says, "A toddler multiple actually plays with a fellow multiple, not merely alongside another as two single-born toddlers tend to do in parallel play. Parents of multiples report social behaviors between, or among, their toddlers that child development books generally list as more typical for preschool children.
Multiples often treat other children as they treat one another, and they expect these children to understand the interactive cues they have developed for the set."

I often get the question, "do they play with each other?" My usual answer is I'm not sure but they do fight with each other! Since they were capable they have pulled hair, taken toys, and pushed each other. I'm not sure when this happened but for quite some time now they have been fully aware of one another.

Well last night Philip witnessed and I caught the tail end of one of the cutest things ever! Caleb and Eli were playing peek-a-boo with each other. One was on the side of the couch and the other was in front of it. They would take turns peeking at each other and both would laugh and giggle when making eye contact. This was also followed by some chasing. TOO CUTE!!! I'm sure this is not the first interactive play that has happened but this is the first time us slow witted adults have actually noticed it.

This is the begining of a very special relationship and one of the most precious moments parents of multiples live for. This is what makes all the hard work of raising two or more at once worth while. Knowing your children, especially those that are identical, will share such a close and special bond with another human being that us 'singletons' will never understand. They will always have a best friend and person(s) who understand them better than anyone else, they were after all literally the same person at one point.

If you have an hour to kill check out this episode of Primetime Nightline it's so cool and freaky!

Twin Tuition Primetime Nightline

3 comments:

Natalie said...

I so much agree with the quote about interactive play. My girls (15 months) play so much better with other multiples. They seem to expect their singleton buddies to interact, but they don't.

Myra 米兰 said...

That is so neat! Hope you can sher a vid of them playing peek-a-boo sometime :)

Jonalyn said...

I remember that cartoon, and of course I thought of you! I would also love to see video of the boys playing together. It just sounds so CUTE!!