‘It’s not often you learn something whilst feeling like you are having so much fun but this book hits the spot.’
–Keith Reed, Twins Trust
‘What I most admire is Kari’s uncanny ability to communicate the challenges of being a multiple from a childhood perspective.’
–Joan A. Friedman, author of Emotionally Healthy Twins
If you’re wondering what it feels like to grow up and be a twin or a triplet then this is the book for you.
Identical triplet Kari Ertresvåg interweaves advice and observations on life as a multiple with hilarious anecdotes from her own, covering the logistically challenging early years, the perplexities of teenagerhood, and the clarity that comes as an adult.
With humour and honesty, Kari lays bare what it feels like to grow up as a twin or a triplet–covering everything from what it’s like to share friends, an underwear drawer or one’s birthday, how to deal with incessant comparisons and layers of confusion, to what it’s like to enjoy a life-sustaining bond yet still needing some time apart from one’s twin or co-triplets–to jump-start reflections for parents and ultimately make life easier for twins and triplets.
Kari talks as a triplet child, cutting to the heart of the question parents of multiples ask–how do I foster individuality in my children while also nurturing the bond between them–with her heartfelt, honest and thought-provoking Parent like a Triplet.
Here is the book that The International Council of Multiple Birth Organisations says you should ‘keep on your bookshelf, because you will find yourself going back to it many times as your multiples grow and develop into adults’.
Cuprins
- Foreword
- Introduction: One became multiple
- Chapter 1: Twinning: how one can become multiple
- Chapter 2: Why ‘how do you do it?’ is the world’s most grating question for parents of multiples
- Chapter 3: Need a pep talk before having multiples? Here you go!
- Chapter 4: The big baby mix-up: parents should give themselves time to bond with their multiples
- Chapter 5: Stubborn twin myths and what to tell your children
- Chapter 6: The crash-course in dressing multiples
- Chapter 7: It’s all about the pauses: why parents need to give multiples time apart
- Chapter 8: Why every day shouldn’t be a sibling playdate and how to help twins maneuver friendships
- Chapter 9: Being samebody: the pros and cons of having body doubles
- Chapter 10: Identical multiples are clones, yet allowed to differ
- Chapter 11: When your in-built buddies don’t count: why adolescence might be tougher for twins
- Chapter 12: Competition in the triplet lab: why multiples should get their own class at school
- Chapter 13: How to make a shared birthday a child’s very own
- Chapter 14: She’s the pretty one: dealing with physical comparisons
- Chapter 15: Build a bond with each child and between your singleton(s) and multiples
- Chapter 16: Leaving comparisons behind-leaving to be just me
- Chapter 17: Romantic relationships for multiples: the truth
- Chapter 18: Copacabana grandmas
- Goodbye and acknowledgements
- Further reading
- Notes