Raising one year old twins is a challenge. Parenting twins is different in that the normal behavior of babies seeing themselves as separate from mom and dad – is complicated by also the need to see themselves as separate from their twin. This can create some interesting and frustrating behaviors.
Sometimes you’ll find that your twins join forces against you – the parent. What one twin can’t quite manage to do on their own – they can with the help of their twin. And while they may spend a lot of time tag- teaming you – sometimes the need for emerging independence means they start taking on each other.
During this year is usually when the hair pulling, toy stealing, pushing , hitting and biting start to occur. It can be enough to drive you crazy !
Raising one year old twins is challenging at this stage because they have the physical ability to move and to show aggression – but not the mental ability to understand. A lot of the fighting is simply to see what happens when….? Teething tends to coincide with the biting stage. One twin will bite the other, the bitten twin starts to cry and then the biter also starts to cry – all not sure what has happened!
***If YOU have great advice on biting twins – please write in at the bottom of this page !***
For our family , biting always seemed to happen in the bath. Maybe it was due to more skin showing for easy access – we’re not sure – but only by careful watching could we see frustration and then – quick – distract or remove the biter – even still – we ended up with many bit marks on the backs of both twins. Usually over a rubber ducky ! ( and yes – we had 2 rubber duckies that were the same.)
Development and Language
When you’re raising one year old twins, this stage involves more of little ones being unable to control their behavior – later comes the verbal as they try to assert their independence.
The fun with raising one year old twins is that they have a head start on sharing and socializing. When you go out to new places or to do new things with them – they tend to be more comfortable because they have each other. You’ll notice that they’ll start to help each other – hand their twin a missing piece of a toy, or ‘their’ color cup. These skills are learned early on with twins.
Of course – this also means that they will help each other get into trouble. Generally around 15 months of age they’ll be walking, if not walking then cruising around holding onto furniture. As one twin learns a new skill you’ll probably notice the other trying to quickly learn it as well.
Around 18 months you’ll be able to determine if you’re twins are right or left-handed. They’ll probably be able to stack blocks and hold their own spoons and cups and things to climb on so watch out! Fun games at this age are silly songs, building towers and knocking them down, and repeating everything they hear as they learn language skills.
Language skills with twins can be tricky. There can be some developmental delays as they acquire language because of WHO they spend all their time talking to ! Because twins are together almost constantly they have far more verbal interactions with each other – than with an adult. So if either twin is pronouncing a word wrong for example – they both will say it wrong – if not corrected. Your twins may also develop a ‘secret language’ that is only understandable between them – this is fairly common and reinforces their bond – but does not help them learn language skills to communicate with the rest of the world. You may find your twins invent their own words for things as well.
Raising One Year Old Twins – Emotions
One year old twins usually are sweet and cuddly during the first half of this year – yet about halfway through as they start to try to assert their independence comes the word “NO”, temper tantrums, clinginess and separation anxiety from their twin and their mom.
Most one year old show these behaviors , but with twins, they can actually seem more upset if someone leaves with a twin – rather than if the mother leaves both of them. The bond formed is quite strong already and twins are very attached to each other.
Raising one year old twins is still part of the ongoing rollercoaster ride. You’ve managed to make it through the first year with twins where they change from helpless, sleeping, feeding machines, into delightful little people who are on the move, very emotional and will keep you hopping. They are also so CUTE at this age !!!!!!
