Ideas for distinguishing twins?

[Melaine]

The girls will be in a homeschool class two days a week this year. It's a full day and they will have two teachers plus art teacher, spanish teacher, etc. There is only one class per grade so they will be together. I think in a full time classroom their teacher might be able to tell them apart, but in this scenario I just don't expect it. Plus I desperately want them to make friends as individuals as much as possible. (some of their long time friends called them a combo of both names for the longest time-a unit) I'm all for them dressing differently but I think it's hard for people to remember who is wearing what. I'd consider different hairstyles, but with their curls, not really a good idea.

So I'm trying to find something they can each have or wear every day to help people. Last year they had hair feathers, so we could do that again. I also thought about hair wraps in different colors. Possibly some kind of necklace? Ideas?

[gatorsmom]

Can one always wear a headband and one always wear a ponytail? Do they have their ears pierced? Maybe one can always wear the same pair of earrings while one wears a certain necklace?

I'm sure it's hard. We had a set of identical twin sisters that used to take turns being a mothers helper for me. Gator was small and couldn't tell them apart. He thought it was the same girl coming to our house everyday! He was shocked and confused when one day they BOTH came over! And they were still very similar in high school. The only way I could tell them apart was that one had a little patch of acne on her forehead that never went away. They wore similar clothes and had similar hobbies and interests. They are going to college this year and their mother was hoping they'd go to different universities but nope! It seems they are both interested in the same program at the same university. It seems there is no fighting mother nature!

They took it all in good fun and their family always joked about how incredibly similar they are. They both hung out with the same friends who after enough time, could tell them apart most of the time.

Hope something clicks with "Scophies'" friends too. :tongue5:

[fedoragirl]

I had three sets of identical twins in my class one year. One set was a boy-girl, so that wasn't difficult. Different clothing definitely helps. It's not so much as remembering what they are wearing but identifying them after the morning greeting, and just knowing that that's what they wore. It's hard to explain. Of course, one mom made it very hard for me and other teachers--both girls dressed exactly the same and even wore their hair the same way. They were 14!

[katydid1971]

Can you choose a main color for each girl and keep them in that, like one in pink, one in purple. Then try and find a few outfits in those colors so they always wear the same color on the days they go to class.

[AnnieW625]

My best friends are twins. In elementary school they always wore different colored shirts, but they would always be primiraly the same the same color. A would wear something red, and S would always wear green or blue. S hated red from an early age too so that helped.

[o_mom]

Can you get necklaces with their names?

Something like this (no idea of this seller, just one that popped up): http://www.etsy.com/listing/101702096/personalized-sterling-silver-wire-name

That along with maybe a colored hair clip that they each have 'their' color might do it.

ETA: I like these even better: http://www.etsy.com/listing/57139733/personalized-hair-clip

Or these if they have different first initials: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90869109/personalized-flower-felt-hair-clips-with

Again, no idea if these are good sellers.

[KpbS]

How about different color hair bows?

Or the hair feather idea is a good one too if they want it.

Good for you fostering their independance and individual identities! :)

[fivi2]

In pre-k mine were in the same class. After the entire year, no one could tell them apart :( This was a large part of why we separated in K. (I know that doesn't help, just telling your our experiences).

One thing that their friends in pre-k did rely on was outfit color. We didn't do it intentionally, but 1 ended up wearing mostly purple and the other was mostly red/pink. That was how most of their friends told them apart. (It did bug me because I wanted people to learn who they were and not rely on a crutch like that, but I later decided it was more important for them to feel like people knew who was who.)

So I would recommend the signature color idea.

Even after a year in kinder in separate classes, their friends still get confused when they are together. I don't know what else to do!

We do take gymnastics with a set with drastically different haircuts - I didn't realize they were id twins at first! But I will wait on that until it is something they are interested in.

Also - I caught part of a show on TLC (or one of those) with some really co-dependent identical twins. I need to watch the whole thing, but it really made me try to think of ways to let them establish their own identities. It was pretty scary to see how co-dependent these adult id twins were. (just food for thought as they age... not related to the current dilemma).

[happymom]

I think the idea of name necklaces is great. Because even if you put them in different colors/bows/etc, the teachers will have to remember which one wears pink vs purple. I know some people aren't so comfortable with having their kids names advertised for safety reasons, so that's something you'd have to be okay with.

[TwinFoxes]

If you don't like the idea of their names, what about initials on a necklace? Although thinking about it, I think both of yours start with the same initial. Hmm, what about a silver cross, and a gold cross necklace? Or white gold and yellow gold? Or just different style crosses.

Aw heck, just get one a tattoo. ;)

ETA: I went to HS with identical twins who dressed alike. And their clothes were definitely picked out by them, unless their mom was super into micro minis and tight tees.

[SkyrMommy]

Is there a bead shop near you? You could bring the girls & let them pick out bracelet beads that they could always wear... maybe different colors?

kind of like this one on etsy...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/66783207/childrens-name-bracelets-personalized?ref=sr_gallery_3&sref=&ga_search_query=name+bracelet&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_ref=auto1&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmadename+bracelet

or this...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/103636437/babychild-personalized-fuschia-n-pink?ref=sr_gallery_17&ga_search_query=name+bracelet&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=4&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmadename+bracelet

[buddyleebaby]

I had a pair of identical twins in my class once. For the first month or two, I looked at their sneakers to see who was who.

[trales]

I love the beaded bracelet or necklace idea. Just something to take a quick glance at.

[lalasmama]

I'd really try to shoot for a "signature color" more than anything else. My reasoning? Because name necklaces can be hidden under shirts. Earrings can be taken off without anyone noticing. Your daughters will get tired of everyone saying, "Hey, let me see your bracelet Scophie!" and, again, it's a quick and easy thing to hide/trade. It's a little more obvious if they're trading their shirts ;) LOL The hair feathers could work too, but only, IMO, if they are very obvious.

I keep thinking back to the first days at a new job, and how everyone is like, "Oh, hi.... [quick glance to the name tag] Hi, Mimi! How's it going?" And, as a twin, while they are still young and involved in the same things, they will always face being "Scophie" unless you can give people a quick "hint"... so they aren't looking for some tiny little difference, but it's right there in front of their face--BOOM--That's Sophie because she's in pink, and that's Catie because she's in purple. No having to sneak a glance at some small piece of jewelry, no having to see who has the tiny mole under the left earlobe, etc.

[larig]

my mom's an identical twin, and as a teacher I taught a couple of sets of identical twins. I think the bracelets would be great.

[Green_Tea]

I had a pair of identical twins in my class once. For the first month or two, I looked at their sneakers to see who was who.

:yeahthat:

Different shoes are the way to go, IMO.

[fedoragirl]

I'd really try to shoot for a "signature color" more than anything else. My reasoning? Because name necklaces can be hidden under shirts. Earrings can be taken off without anyone noticing. Your daughters will get tired of everyone saying, "Hey, let me see your bracelet Scophie!" and, again, it's a quick and easy thing to hide/trade. It's a little more obvious if they're trading their shirts ;) LOL The hair feathers could work too, but only, IMO, if they are very obvious.


:yeahthat: ITA I would never think to check someone's jewellery.

[TwinFoxes]

:yeahthat: ITA I would never think to check someone's jewellery.

With kids I assumed it'd be announced, and it would be their thing. Not like adults where you're expected to just remember.

OP, tell us what you decided! :)

[squimp]

The hair feathers is a great idea. We know several sets of twins and they distinguish with clothes colors - the boy with the B name wears blue and the other orange. The girl twins we know are not identical so they are easy to tell apart. And the other boy twins have different haircuts - one has really short hair and the other is longer.

[o_mom]

I'd really try to shoot for a "signature color" more than anything else. My reasoning? Because name necklaces can be hidden under shirts. Earrings can be taken off without anyone noticing. Your daughters will get tired of everyone saying, "Hey, let me see your bracelet Scophie!" and, again, it's a quick and easy thing to hide/trade. It's a little more obvious if they're trading their shirts ;) LOL The hair feathers could work too, but only, IMO, if they are very obvious.




The thing is, that you have to be able to remember which name goes with which color. DS1 has twins in his class. They are fraternal boys - they don't look alike at all (well any more than brothers do) and one even had a mohawk for the second half of the year. I still had trouble because I would say to myself - "The one with the mohawk is Kenny... oh, wait, or was it Jeff...oh crap... 'Are you Jeff or Kenny?' " There was nothing about the visual of the different hair that cued me as to which one it was.

If there was a good way to remember (like the PP's 'O' name wears orange or something), it might work, but I'm also one that had kids wear nametags for 8 weeks of a once a week class because I couldn't keep them all straight and there weren't even any twins, just lots of little girls with long hair, lol.

[PearlsMom]

What about getting the girls Converse -- you know, the Chuck Taylor All-Stars with white rubber toes -- and having their names written on them? Agree w/ pp that telling twins apart isn't always the problem as much as remembering which name goes with whom. (A little embarassed to add that I have this problem with an adult gay couple who I met, together, through DH. They look completely different but both have very common names and I can't remember which one looks more like a "Bob", you know?)

[Green_Tea]

What about getting the girls Converse -- you know, the Chuck Taylor All-Stars with white rubber toes -- and having their names written on them?

I think this is a great idea. If they don't have the same first initial, you could even just go with letters.

[Melaine]

You guys have some great ideas! I might try several of them actually. In retrospect, I really wish we had given them names with two different initials. It would have been really helpful in lots of situations. There is a very easy mnemonic device with their names corresponding to the colors they sometimes wear. And that has worked for people in the past. It's just that we don't have all of their clothes in those two colors, some of their outfits are matching. The big thing is that I don't want them to be dressing to fit the "code"...I'd like them to be able to choose what they wear in whatever color they want. They like to match more times than not. A headband might work....they usually have their hair up in some way because it's so crazy. My girls would balk at ONE wearing a headband and not the other though. If it were two different headbands that would be acceptable. They don't have pierced ears so that won't work.
I love the name necklaces. I might think about putting those on the Christmas list. I don't think I can justify the expense at this point though. I like the shoe idea. They do have some white shoes that I was thinking about painting, so maybe we will try that! I also saw these clips (http://www.etsy.com/listing/53995278/mocha-scallop-name-hair-clip?ref=sr_gallery_8&ga_search_query=name+hair+clips&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=handmade) on Etsy....very cute. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will let you guys know what I decide to try!

[lisa928]

Can you choose a main color for each girl and keep them in that, like one in pink, one in purple.

This is what I have done with my twin girls since they were born. One is assigned pink and the other purple. Now that is their "favorite" colors.

[fivi2]

In my experience, kids won't look at something like a name or initial jewelry at her girls' age. The classmates won't have an issue remembering who goes with which color, but the teacher might. My girls are one school year ahead of melaine's so we are close to the same stage. You could do different color shoes, but I wouldn't go smaller /less obvious than that.

[twowhat?]

Could you do different hairstyles by (for example) ponytail in one girl, braids in the other? Or pony vs pigtail? Ours aren't identical but because they're both Asian (haha) people have trouble telling them apart at first...when the girls chose (on their own) to get different haircuts (one short, one long) it made a big difference. I also like that it makes people less likely to treat them as a unit.

[happymom]

You guys have some great ideas! I might try several of them actually. In retrospect, I really wish we had given them names with two different initials. It would have been really helpful in lots of situations. There is a very easy mnemonic device with their names corresponding to the colors they sometimes wear. And that has worked for people in the past. It's just that we don't have all of their clothes in those two colors, some of their outfits are matching. The big thing is that I don't want them to be dressing to fit the "code"...I'd like them to be able to choose what they wear in whatever color they want. They like to match more times than not. A headband might work....they usually have their hair up in some way because it's so crazy. My girls would balk at ONE wearing a headband and not the other though. If it were two different headbands that would be acceptable. They don't have pierced ears so that won't work.
I love the name necklaces. I might think about putting those on the Christmas list. I don't think I can justify the expense at this point though. I like the shoe idea. They do have some white shoes that I was thinking about painting, so maybe we will try that! I also saw these clips (http://www.etsy.com/listing/53995278/mocha-scallop-name-hair-clip?ref=sr_gallery_8&ga_search_query=name+hair+clips&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=handmade) on Etsy....very cute. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will let you guys know what I decide to try!

IIRC, you are a crafty and creative Mama- how about buying alphabet beads (the bigger the better) and making name necklaces with the girls? I think that would work well for now and you could always get Etsy necklaces as gifts later on like you said. Heck, once you're making necklaces yourselves, you could make coordinating bracelets too.

[wimama]

My DS has identical girl twins in his class and the one girl's hair is always cut longer. They have the same basic hair style. But, the mom always has her hair cut a little longer. It works extremely well for adults and kids identifying them.

[Pyrodjm]

I worked with a set of 3 year old id twins that were barely verbal, they were in different classes a but the classes were together during recess/fire drills/etc. AND the answered to each others names. They wore silver bracelets engraved with their initials so that we could tell who was who.

What about different colored friendship type bracelets?

[KpbS]

How about a pair of these in purple and one pair in pink? They are bogo right now. http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=cat10090&subCatId=cat10331&skuId=099426035&productId=69310&lotId=099426&category=&catdisplayName=Girls

[anonomom]

At the risk of being a party pooper, I have to say that I'm an identical twin and almost all of these ideas would have chafed me when I was a kid (except for probably the name necklaces, if it had been presented as a gift and not as a nametag). I usually got assigned a color, and it was frustrating because sometimes it felt like people never bothered to learn who I actually was -- I was just "the purple one." And the PP that noted that people will still get the kids confused because they won't remember which twin wears which color/hairstyle/bow etc. is correct. It happened to me and my sister right up until we left for separate colleges.

I assume that even if your girls are identical, they have enough subtle differences that over time the teacher will learn who's who. Until then, you can ask the teacher how you can help -- maybe it's as simple as a nametag? Regardless of what they wear, they will also eventually get to know their peers as individuals. They may choose always to hang out together and have the same friends, but I promise you those friends will learn to tell them apart.

That said, I would avoid sending them to school in identical outfits if you can.

[crl]

Are all their initials the same? If they have different middle initials, you could do all their initials on a necklace or bracelet.

Catherine

[Still-in-Shock]

The twins I went to school with had different parts for their hair. V had a middle part and S a side part. This might come in handy if a particular shirt only comes in one color.

[AngelaS]

I lived with identical twins in college and I couldn't believe that people couldn't tell them apart. They were so different!

I would steer clear of assigning them a color. With my friends, one always was the pink twin and one wore the other color. Even in college the pink twin still wore a lot of pink or pastels and the other one never did. It took a long time to move past that!

[thomma]

I had two sets of identical twins in my classroom for two years (i teach 5/6 looping with a partner teacher)...while I could tell the girls apart my partner teacher could not. So one girl wore a barrette in her hair every single day and the other one didn't. By the end one was about 3 inches taller than the other so that made it much easier. ;)

It was amazing to me that the kids could always tell both sets apart...without a problem.

[wellyes]

Different haircuts. If they'll let you.

[Melaine]

It would be nice if there was some easy way to distinguish between them. There are no birthmarks, moles or scars. The "clues" I can give people all involve comparing the two of them, but I really really want people to be able to look at one alone and know who she is. wellyes, the haircut thing is tricky because their hair is super SUPER curly so that rules out bangs. And we really need the length to hold the curls down, so it's just long and wild. If I attempt to cut one's hair shorter than the other it would be a problem because then the shorter hairstyle would be "less like Tangled". That's right, princesses have long hair...the end. I recently did get several inches cut off both of them and I need to do it again just for my sanity's sake. I'm still kind of thinking hair feathers might be the way to go. Maybe a clip-in this time so we can take it out easily and maybe a cluster for each with very obviously different colors.

[Katigre]

The girls will be in a homeschool class two days a week this year. It's a full day and they will have two teachers plus art teacher, spanish teacher, etc. There is only one class per grade so they will be together. I think in a full time classroom their teacher might be able to tell them apart, but in this scenario I just don't expect it. Plus I desperately want them to make friends as individuals as much as possible. (some of their long time friends called them a combo of both names for the longest time-a unit) I'm all for them dressing differently but I think it's hard for people to remember who is wearing what. I'd consider different hairstyles, but with their curls, not really a good idea.

So I'm trying to find something they can each have or wear every day to help people. Last year they had hair feathers, so we could do that again. I also thought about hair wraps in different colors. Possibly some kind of necklace? Ideas?
I taught a set of identical twin girls at our homeschool coop and telling them apart wasn't too difficult. I only had them for one hour once a week. Honestly what helped me most was observing their personalities - if the mom had given me a short description of each one's most common mannerisms/personality traits that distinguished her from hre sister that would have helped a lot. Then I could make those associations with who they are as people vs. a changeable outward appearance thing.