Twin Confusion
I am forever amazed at how little people know about babies - twins in particular. Sure, not everyone has twins. And I admit I didn't know much about babies before I had them. But how is it that some among us lack the most basic baby knowledge?
Boys have boy haircuts and wear clothes with trucks on them. Their clothes will often be blue, but they will assuredly not be pink. Girls wear pink and their clothes have flowers on them. A girl could be mistaken for a boy when the girl hasn't grown more hair than the boy sitting next to her. However, any pink is a clear indication of a girl.
When you're out with babies, people, especially older women, feel free to stop you to talk to you. I suppose this happens to anyone with a newborn, but the excitement doubles when they see it's twins.
"Oh my! Two babies!" someone will exclaim. "Are they twins?" the person asks.
"Yes, yes they are," I tell them.
"Oh, how adorable," they say smiling at the children. "Two boys?" they ask.
"No, one boy, one girl," I answer.
"How sweet," they'll say. "My niece had twins. Are yours identical?"
Now, I thought it was common knowledge that identical twins are the identical sex. I mean, I knew this way before I had twins. But, you would not believe how often I am asked this question.
"No, ma'am. They're not identical," I'll say. "Actually they have different fathers."
[blank stare]
[pause for effect]
"Just kidding," I say.
Boys have boy haircuts and wear clothes with trucks on them. Their clothes will often be blue, but they will assuredly not be pink. Girls wear pink and their clothes have flowers on them. A girl could be mistaken for a boy when the girl hasn't grown more hair than the boy sitting next to her. However, any pink is a clear indication of a girl.When you're out with babies, people, especially older women, feel free to stop you to talk to you. I suppose this happens to anyone with a newborn, but the excitement doubles when they see it's twins.
"Oh my! Two babies!" someone will exclaim. "Are they twins?" the person asks.
"Yes, yes they are," I tell them.
"Oh, how adorable," they say smiling at the children. "Two boys?" they ask.
"No, one boy, one girl," I answer.
"How sweet," they'll say. "My niece had twins. Are yours identical?"
Now, I thought it was common knowledge that identical twins are the identical sex. I mean, I knew this way before I had twins. But, you would not believe how often I am asked this question.
"No, ma'am. They're not identical," I'll say. "Actually they have different fathers."
[blank stare]
[pause for effect]
"Just kidding," I say.
posted by Gene at 11/30/2005 07:44:00 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
GREAT comeback. Just today my husband's hairdresser, after establishing they were boy/girl based on the blue and pink clothing, asked if they were identical. I, too, thought everyone knew that opposite sexes couldn't be identical, but I find myself educating the masses on a daily basis.
I'm going to start using that one.
I actually had someone ask me if they were identical AT A TWINS CLUB MEETING. (she had identical girls)
I have a friend with b/g twins who always says "They have one BIG difference".
Yes ladies, please feel free to use that line. It will have a lot more punch coming from mom;)
Different fathers. Ha! I almost shot milk out my nose!
Great blog!! We have boy/girl twins too and always get asked if they're identical!!
My nieces are twins (2 in May!), but I have two kids who are a little close in age (16 months apart, so not too close!) , and I alsways had people asking me if they were twins? They weren't even the same gender or close in size, and yeah I know that sometimes there can be a substancial difference in size (and different gender...lol)but why would one atoumatically assume they were twins? I DO love the father comment, perfect comeback!
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