Parenting School-Age Twins and Multiples

by Christina Baglivi Tinglof

Real-world advice for when your twins' and multiples' concerns go beyond "Should they dress alike?" Should your twins be placed in the same homeroom at school? Does one of your kids have a harder time making friends than the other? How healthy is competition among your triplets? Christina Baglivi Tinglof, author of Double Duty and a mother of twins, expertly guides you through your kids' school years, from the first days of kindergarten to the always drama-filled years of high school. Drawing from the latest cutting-edge research and hundreds of parent-tested tips, Tinglof offers proven advice

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

As a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, Christina started her career as a travel writer. Her travel features have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Herald, and Westways magazine. Her first travel guide, Northern Italy: A Taste of Trattoria, now out of print, was the inspiration for her new travel series, Chow Italy.

With the birth of her fraternal twin sons and subsequent single-born son, her writing focus naturally turned to parenting and family travel. Her parenting features have appeared in Twins magazine, LA Parent, and Parents magazine. She's the author of four books on parenting and twinning including Double Duty: The Parents' Guide to Raising Twins, and Parenting School-Age Twins and Multiples.

In 2004, she started Talk About Twins, a website devoted to twins, twin relationships, parenting twins and their siblings.

Reviews

[Loz · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really a parenting book person but with twins reaching kindy age i found a few things within quite interesting. multiples can be a whole other ball game at times so there's some good food for thought once you sift through some of the silly bits.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 4 out of 5]

My twin daughters are starting kindergarten in 2 weeks and this was the perfect book to wake me from my self-congratulatory state of bliss at having survived infancy and toddlerhood. Christina Baglivi Tinglof does a great job of even-handedly covering what rigors lie ahead, while offering common-sense advice that effectively assuages a parent's fears: establish rules such as No Tattling (punish the tattler!), No Name Calling (keep kids separated until they write an apology!); never punish both when unsure of culprit (instead expect guilty party to step forward and take responsibility for their actions!), praise compassion (teach it's okay to feel jealous and proud of cotwin simultaneously!), set ground rules i.e., is it ok to date a cotwin ex? is double-dating an option? when a non-mutual friend is over, is there an open- or closed-door policy?

Really great job handling sibling relationships and rivalries, education decisions, and differing developmental needs. I do wish the author had left out what applies to parenting newborn and pre-school age multiples, she still would have had plenty enough leftover for this book. I especially loved the studies showing adolescent twins remain closer to parents than singletons, that twin teens have more difficulty rejecting their parents' values and tend to drink and smoke less and exercise more than their singleton peers; but wish data on teen pregnancy had been included also.

[Melanie Steele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my parenting style (suggests time outs and banning "tattling" instead of encouraging truth-telling), but there are some interesting studies referenced about educating twins.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parenting School-Aged Twins is an insightful and practical resource for parents navigating the unique challenges and joys of raising twins in their school years. Tinglof’s advice is grounded in real-life experience, making her suggestions both relatable and actionable.

The book covers a wide range of topics, including fostering individuality, managing sibling rivalry, and balancing the demands of school and extracurricular activities.

Tinglof’s empathetic tone and practical wisdom make this a valuable read for any parent of twins.

A strong 4 stars for its usefulness and relatable approach!

[Quizaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome book for parents of multiples! Although says that this is geared towards older kids, I think I am reading it at the perfect age (mine are 2), makes me realize that parenting multiples vs. singletons is a whole different ball game b/c of individuality issues. Since I shared a room with my sister, my parents tried to give all of us equal parents, and even the family down the street just celebrated 3 of their kids different birthdays on one day (today), then I just thought that we can treat twins or more the same way, now I really understand that you can't.

This was also a quick read (important when you have multiples!) and more exciting and interesting than several other books have been reading (like hornets nest book, etc.)

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

With our triplet girls turning 5 and us thinking through what we want to do about schooling, we found this handy book. There are more books dealing with twins and multiples beyond the first year now...although it does take some researching. Amazon will only list books about the first year. With some tenacity, my genius hubby was able to find some great references related to multiples. This one has great research and anecdotal perspectives on how to approach schools, teachers and administrators related to the needs of multiples.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book packed full with awesome information. I learned and could relate to so much in this book. It covers all age groups and all twin types...as I go through the years I think I will reference this book again!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really goood book. Some of it was just silly but a lot of info and stuff to think about. More focus on twins than triplets.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! A book about school age multiples! Most books talk about babies to toddlers, and then have a quick chapter for the rest of their childhood.