Twins: Double Your Pleasure...Double Your Childproofing!
Twice the fun, and twice the worries! At Safety4Kids, we worry about safety for children in every aspect of their lives. Double that for twins! There are child-proofing concerns that are particular to parents of twins.
Jen Jonson is back to tell us about it.
Twins. Our daughter was two and a half when I found out I was pregnant. I was overjoyed, my husband was happy. My doctor did an ultrasound and I found out I was having twins. I was overjoyed, my husband was in the dark. For six weeks I debated telling him and when I finally did he was totally freaked out. I should have freaked out too, but could only think how lucky I was. I had managed to wrangle a third child out of him without even having to try.
Twins are a whole new world of worry even for a (somewhat!) experienced mom. From the minute the nurse brought them in to my hospital room in their shared bassinet and told me, "We can do this here because we know what we're doing, but you should never put them down together in a bassinet," I realized that this was a whole new universe of safety precautions. Unlike learning to diaper my singleton (twin mommy lingo for the easy one!) which the nurses told me time and again I'd master, this nurse was telling me that there were things I would never be able to do with my twins unless they were under the supervision of medical personnel.
We were lucky, my sister is married to a twin, my husband's boss is a twin, my sister-in-law has twins and somehow I joined a great playgroup with experienced twin moms even before I became one myself. The precautions you need to take are somewhat different from those that any mother with more than one child will need because you have two that are basically on the same page. This means that they will both have more abilities to get into trouble and less understanding that what they are doing is dangerous.
My twin daughter has already proved herself to be the more prudent of the two and my son the quintessential boy. If you decide to have your babies share a crib (as we did) you should watch out for signs that one is becoming mobile and try to have another crib (even a porta-crib) on hand so that you can move one right away. Our twin boy gave us the message that they needed to be separated loud and clear when we woke up one morning to find him lying on top of his helpless sister. Not a very safe situation. They do sell crib dividers that can prevent this from happening but if you are tilting the mattress (for digestion issues, which it seems many twins have) be prepared for this movement to happen sooner than you think.
One twin issue experienced by my sister-in-law was using toys as weapons. All siblings do this but you need to be particularly cautious with the toys you give twins who are at approximately the same developmental point at the same time. I remember how horrified she looked when I gave her a wooden tea set for her daughter. What looked like a quaint toy set to me was all hard corners to her. Once they reach a reasonable age (different for every child) you can settle down but you do need to protect them especially if they are left alone in a room even for a minute while you do something wild and crazy...like go to the bathroom!
Cooperation is also a dangerous thing. This means that you should be especially vigilant when they start communicating with each other. One can hold the toy in the playpen as a step while the other climbs up and hoists themselves over the side. A singleton can do this but it will be easier and quicker when the child has an accomplice.
My friend Fran, mother to a 5 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old twin boys was surprised by how much more childproofing she needed to do with her twins. "I needed to put up safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs as soon as they started moving, I never needed to do that with my older ones because I could always watch them." I was a little slow to do this. When my 3 year old came and told me her 9 month old brother was at the top of the stairs (literally a second away from plunging to the tile floor of our basement), I realized Fran was right. You need to do more AND do it sooner with twins.
Our pediatrician once told me that the most dangerous time in a child's young life is from the time they start walking until they are about two and a half. I think that time line for a twin starts in the womb and goes until they are about three and a half, possibly longer. Get as much help as you can (husband, family members, babysitters, mother's helper) once they are moving because during this critical time you really need to play man to man defense. You should also try to have one room, or area, in your house which is completely childproofed. There will always be moments with twins (getting into/out of the car for example) where you will need to leave one alone. And always remember to try to enjoy this short period of time, while you're worrying!
(c) Igor Balasanov. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
Jen Jonson is back to tell us about it.
Twins. Our daughter was two and a half when I found out I was pregnant. I was overjoyed, my husband was happy. My doctor did an ultrasound and I found out I was having twins. I was overjoyed, my husband was in the dark. For six weeks I debated telling him and when I finally did he was totally freaked out. I should have freaked out too, but could only think how lucky I was. I had managed to wrangle a third child out of him without even having to try.Twins are a whole new world of worry even for a (somewhat!) experienced mom. From the minute the nurse brought them in to my hospital room in their shared bassinet and told me, "We can do this here because we know what we're doing, but you should never put them down together in a bassinet," I realized that this was a whole new universe of safety precautions. Unlike learning to diaper my singleton (twin mommy lingo for the easy one!) which the nurses told me time and again I'd master, this nurse was telling me that there were things I would never be able to do with my twins unless they were under the supervision of medical personnel.
We were lucky, my sister is married to a twin, my husband's boss is a twin, my sister-in-law has twins and somehow I joined a great playgroup with experienced twin moms even before I became one myself. The precautions you need to take are somewhat different from those that any mother with more than one child will need because you have two that are basically on the same page. This means that they will both have more abilities to get into trouble and less understanding that what they are doing is dangerous.
My twin daughter has already proved herself to be the more prudent of the two and my son the quintessential boy. If you decide to have your babies share a crib (as we did) you should watch out for signs that one is becoming mobile and try to have another crib (even a porta-crib) on hand so that you can move one right away. Our twin boy gave us the message that they needed to be separated loud and clear when we woke up one morning to find him lying on top of his helpless sister. Not a very safe situation. They do sell crib dividers that can prevent this from happening but if you are tilting the mattress (for digestion issues, which it seems many twins have) be prepared for this movement to happen sooner than you think.
One twin issue experienced by my sister-in-law was using toys as weapons. All siblings do this but you need to be particularly cautious with the toys you give twins who are at approximately the same developmental point at the same time. I remember how horrified she looked when I gave her a wooden tea set for her daughter. What looked like a quaint toy set to me was all hard corners to her. Once they reach a reasonable age (different for every child) you can settle down but you do need to protect them especially if they are left alone in a room even for a minute while you do something wild and crazy...like go to the bathroom!
Cooperation is also a dangerous thing. This means that you should be especially vigilant when they start communicating with each other. One can hold the toy in the playpen as a step while the other climbs up and hoists themselves over the side. A singleton can do this but it will be easier and quicker when the child has an accomplice.
My friend Fran, mother to a 5 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old twin boys was surprised by how much more childproofing she needed to do with her twins. "I needed to put up safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs as soon as they started moving, I never needed to do that with my older ones because I could always watch them." I was a little slow to do this. When my 3 year old came and told me her 9 month old brother was at the top of the stairs (literally a second away from plunging to the tile floor of our basement), I realized Fran was right. You need to do more AND do it sooner with twins.
Our pediatrician once told me that the most dangerous time in a child's young life is from the time they start walking until they are about two and a half. I think that time line for a twin starts in the womb and goes until they are about three and a half, possibly longer. Get as much help as you can (husband, family members, babysitters, mother's helper) once they are moving because during this critical time you really need to play man to man defense. You should also try to have one room, or area, in your house which is completely childproofed. There will always be moments with twins (getting into/out of the car for example) where you will need to leave one alone. And always remember to try to enjoy this short period of time, while you're worrying!
(c) Igor Balasanov. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
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