Telling identical twins apart can prove to be quite a challenging task, especially when they’rebabies. And while their parents might find it easier to do than others, even they need help sometimes distinguishing their little ones.Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community who are parents to identical twins recently sharedtheir methodsfor telling their kids apart afterone userstarted a thread about it. Ranging from using color-coded socks to marking them with nail polish or a marker, some of their ways were as useful as they were amusing; so scroll down to find the parents’ honest answers on the list below and enjoy.Below you will also findBored Panda’sinterviews with two experts, educational consultant and author ofTwin Dilemmas: Changing Relationships Throughout the Lifespan,Dr. Barbara Klein, and Professor in the department of Psychiatry at The University Of British Columbia and an expert in twin research,Dr. Kerry Jang, who were kind enough to answer a few of our questions about twins.This post may includeaffiliate links.
Telling identical twins apart can prove to be quite a challenging task, especially when they’rebabies. And while their parents might find it easier to do than others, even they need help sometimes distinguishing their little ones.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community who are parents to identical twins recently sharedtheir methodsfor telling their kids apart afterone userstarted a thread about it. Ranging from using color-coded socks to marking them with nail polish or a marker, some of their ways were as useful as they were amusing; so scroll down to find the parents’ honest answers on the list below and enjoy.
Below you will also findBored Panda’sinterviews with two experts, educational consultant and author ofTwin Dilemmas: Changing Relationships Throughout the Lifespan,Dr. Barbara Klein, and Professor in the department of Psychiatry at The University Of British Columbia and an expert in twin research,Dr. Kerry Jang, who were kind enough to answer a few of our questions about twins.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
One had slightly green eyes, brown hair and would always lay on the right side when asleep.. the other one had a p*nis.
Back in the 90s, a tiny drop of nail polish on the toe (careful to be sure they can’t put their foot in their mouth. Different color clothing. Most importantly, using their names with them individually is super important. Repetition of their names means they will start to look and respond to their own name early.
While having twins means double the trouble, they also bring double the joy; and in the case of identical twins, likely some confusion as well, as they typically look, well… identical. According to Dr. Klein—a twin herself—it can be difficult even forparentsto distinguish between the two of their little ones.
However, Professor Kerry Jang of the department of Psychiatry at The University Of British Columbia, an expert in twin research, believes that parents are observant enough to noticecertain differencesin twins, no matter how minor.“Parents can easily tell them apart. The key is in some small and subtle differences observed, which are often physical,” he toldBored Panda, adding that even identical twins are not always 100% identical, as certain differences can develop in the womb.
However, Professor Kerry Jang of the department of Psychiatry at The University Of British Columbia, an expert in twin research, believes that parents are observant enough to noticecertain differencesin twins, no matter how minor.
“Parents can easily tell them apart. The key is in some small and subtle differences observed, which are often physical,” he toldBored Panda, adding that even identical twins are not always 100% identical, as certain differences can develop in the womb.
Silly story: a long time ago, when I was 12, I think, I learned this really cute girl from my class who I had a crush on had a brother. I met the brother (a year or two younger than us), and started a friendship - in part because he was her brother, in part because he was actually a cool kid. And so, over weeks, we developed a cool friendship, chatting about random things on the courtyard every now and then. Until one day I see this kid… standing next to his identical twin brother. And both of them look at me, smile, and say “Hey, how’s it going, ?” TL;DR: for weeks, I’d developed a friendship and chatted with both of them, unaware there were two of them. But, because I knew they were related to my classmate, we never bothered with names.
My parents just…gave up lol they just mash our names into one name and call us both that30 yrs later we both still get called “JohnJoe” like it’s one name 😂.
Drew a mustache on one with a magic marker.
According tothe NHS, roughly one-third of all twins are identical and two-thirds are not. Since the former kind of pairing results from a single egg that’s fertilized and then divided in two, the kids not only look identical but always are of the same sex as well.
Painted the big toe nail.It doesn’t take long as a parent of identical to figure out who is who. We had the toe nail painted for maybe a week before it was easy to tell who was who.
Identical twins stop looking identical when you know them.Mom said as newborns she color coded my brother’s but it wasn’t for her benefit it was for everyone else.My brother’s don’t even look alike to me anymore.
Both of the experts second the idea that the personality in twins can be very different. According to Dr. Jang, these differences often stem from undergoing different experiences.
Identical twin here, my mom gave us each a gold bracelet with our name engraved on it.
I’ve known about five sets of twins closely while attending school & university, after you get to know their personalities it’s easy to tell them apart.As babies i’d recommend temporary tattoos.
It wasn’t that hard; one was always just a bit chunkier than his brother. That one also had a scar on his chest from when liquid was removed from his lung. The freckles are different. They sound different, have different mannerisms.For my own ease I did dress them in different colors, and I tried to keep bracelets made of embroidery floss on them. That didn’t work entirely to plan; one would always rip his off but the other really liked his bracelet and I had to replace it when it got worn for the first four years of his life.People have a hard time mentally handling twins, especially identical ones, but they’re just two brothers who look very related.
Whether or not they like having a sibling looking just like them might differ from person to person, too, depending on their views and experiences. However, Dr. Jang pointed out that identicaltwinsdon’t report anything good or bad about looking like their sibling. “[For them], it is just a state of being.”
Not the parent, but uncle who helped out a lot - color coding. One of them ONLY wore purple and the other one ONLY wore pink until they were old enough to be able to remember their own names. Parents were INCREDIBLY firm that NOBODY change their outfits EVER without express permission to ensure nobody screwed up their system.
One of mine had a birthmark on his head that his brother didn’t have. Once they got enough hair it got harder to tell.
As a step-mom to fraternal twins and biological mom to identical twins and fraternal twins one thing i did with my identical twins is i always watched their eye color because though identical i was noticing how my identical twin daughters blue eye color would change so one of my twins has her left eye dark sapphire blue and her right eye light sky blue whereas her twin sister has her left eye light sky blue with her right eye being dark sapphire blue.
See Also on Bored Panda
Fingerprint scan on iPhone.
Color-coded socks - it’s like giving each twin their own mini-fashion statement from day one.
I named my twins the same name, that way I don’t have to tell them apart.
You just look at them. They are not perfect copies of each other. The first thing I look for in twins is head shape. Often one will have a wider head and the other will have a narrow head.
Spray paint one blue and the other red …Easy.
Girl identical twin dad here.One girl had 2 identifying marks. She has a mole in the inside of her right leg, and a sugar vein on the bridge of her nose.That made it super easy.
Not identical, but close enough at birth that it was hard to tell them apart.I did colors as someone else mentioned, but one has two scars from surgeries at 2 and 3 days old. When I was half asleep and delirious, I’d check for the scars. My cousin painted one of her twin’s big toenails to distinguish.
The hospital bracelets were invaluable to start, then we just painted one of their toenails. We had to really keep up with the repainting though, because if they were naked there was no way to tell them apart. Eventually we started dressing each in certain colours, and when they got old enough they got to pick their own colour. One had a freckle near an elbow we tracked as well.I liked the idea of doing a Tomax and Xamot, permanent facial scar thing, but since they’re girls my wife said that was a bad idea.
I think dressing them in slightly different outfits or adding unique accessories like hats or socks works. Not only did it help you keep track of who’s who, but it also will be a cute keepsake.
Medical tattoos are a thing. They put a small. Dot or comma on the back size of one of the babies ears.
Sharpie names on foreheads.
Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
You May Like30 Of The Most Hilarious Posts From Parents That Made People Laugh This FebruaryIlona Baliūnaitė“I’m No Contact With My Parents”: 30 Parents’ Mistakes Millennials Swear Not To RepeatJustinas Keturka“Putting Their Child In A Beauty Pageant”: 30 Behaviors That Scream “Trashy Parenting”Shelly Fourer
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Justinas Keturka
Shelly Fourer
Parenting
