Twins Can Teach Non-Twins The power and comfort of closeness. Throughout history, twins have been considered to possess special magical powers. In our culture, the twin relationship is idealized as a perfect mirroring experience that builds confidence and security throughout life. Outdated and fantastical, this myth that needs to be dispelled and evaporated into outer …
Author Archives: Barbara Klein
The Legacy of Twinship
The Legacy of Twinship When the life stories of all the adult twins who spoke with me are considered together, some “truths” become evident. This chapter will summarize the most important findings of this study. No one finding is more important than another. Not All Twins Are Alike The most obvious finding of this research …
Double Trouble and Twin Power
Double Trouble and Twin Power Changing Side Effects and Meanings Throughout Life Born together. Holding hands as one. The closeness that twins share is irreplaceable. Their deep attachment as twins is as primary and as crucial as the mother-child bond. Watching twins as they grow portrays their closeness and the comfort they receive from one …
Parenting Twins Is a Monumental Challenge
Simple rules for parenting twins. No one could really disagree that parenting is a complicated responsibility. Maybe that is why saying “parenting twins is even more complicated and demanding” is hard to believe. But when you spend time with twins, you will get a sense of the intensity of their interactions and their conflicts over …
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What Is Important About Twin Fascination
What Is Important About Twin Fascination Twinships can tell us about close relationships. Twins have been considered a source of fascination and wonder / repulsion and fear since the beginning of recorded history. Mythology, religion, literature, film, and art use twins to represent magical powers of closeness and the opposite—discord and rage. It was not …
Identity Real Estate in Twins
Identity Real Estate in Twins A Consequence of Inadequate Parenting. A widely believed cultural fantasy is that all twins get along and love each other. The real truth is that not all twins are alike. Twins who hold on to loving and needing each other desperately share a deep enmeshment because parenting has been very …
The Wedding Dress
A parable for twins and parents. Last night I was working with my long-running twin estrangement group. We were discussing the lengthy journey of truly separating from your twin, which of course can be an ongoing psychological problem. The psychological separation process starts with the awareness that you are a twin as a child, to …
Attentive Parenting
Attentive Parenting The foundation for trust in the adult lives of twins. Popular thinking and cultural mores about being a twin or parenting twins are very idealistic. Twins on the whole often feel misunderstood when people ask, “How is your twin?” And when twins respond in an indifferent or negative tone, onlookers ask, “Why don’t …