The Advantages and Demerits of Being a Twin

People usually confuse twins, especially identical twins, or perceive the twins as a package. This motivates the need to provide the twins with identical toys, clothing, and attention. Fraternal and identical twins can develop into competitive or co-dependent individuals as they mature. Occasionally one twin may assume the role of the leader, while the other assumes a follower’s role. Majority of twins develop increasingly passionate interaction with each other in their early stages of life. The development of twins may assume a different pattern from that of other children in their age group (Lacono, 2009). Twins experience special treatment in comparison to normal children, which may make or break their individual personalities.

Some twins appear to divide work, with one engaged on motor skill, as the other focuses on social or communication skills. Twins spend a lot of their time together and develop excellent communication between themselves, rather than with their family members or acquaintances (Bachmann, 2008). Twins are able understand each other’s facial expressions and gesticulations, and occasionally develop their own verbal communication that nobody else can comprehend. This is mainly evident among identical twins. They are able to entertain one another and do not predominantly feel enthusiastic to discover things outside their world. .

This distinctive developmental pattern may not signify a problem, but, on the other hand, it makes them unique and exposes them independently to other companions and learning environments (Lacono, 2009). Twins also encounter a number of setbacks in their lives, for instance, in the event that one is constantly complimented as the good twin, while the other is constantly reprimanded as a bad twin. This difference in respect to how other people, including family members rate them may result in resentment between the twins. Resentment in this case develops easily, since twins normally desire to be treated as equals, especially in their childhood years. The good twin might consider himself better than his sibling, and consequently develop self-confidence or a sense of superiority complex. The presumed bad twin might consider himself as inferior to his sibling, as well as his contemporaries. This may lead to the bad twin developing a sense of inferiority complex, which would affect his entire life. Twins might sense being outshone by their contemporaries and become unable to discover a suitable niche in life. It is essential to mention that the follower twin might develop over-dependence on the leader twin to assist in achieve things all through their lives (Bachmann, 2008).

Another main demerit of being a twin is that, in the majority of cases, the society perceives them as one person. Society might refer to twins, as “the twins,” rather than by their first names as individuals. This scenario presents a difficult time for twins in trying to establish their personal identities. Twins might also develop problems in establishing a sense of individuality. Twins are constantly conscious of one another, and this creates problems in exploring their idiosyncratic characteristics. Being a twin results in having less privacy, in comparison to having elder or younger siblings, or being an only child (Lacono, 2009).

As identical as they may seem physically, it is essential to note that twins are emotionally different. The disparities among twins should be supported in order to facilitate their development as secure and cheerful individuals. It is imperative to distinguish twin children as two distinct individuals immediately they are born.

References

Bachmann, M. (2008). Causes & Effects of Socio-Demographic Exclusion in Clinical Trials. Health Techno Journal, 14, 65-70.

Lacono, A. (2009). Physical Resemblance & Twin Similarity: An Investigation of Equal Environments Assumption. Journal of Behavior Genetics, 42, 55- 59.