1. Are they twins?


2. Are they boys or girls?


3. Are they identical?


4. Do twins run in your family?


5. What is the difference between identical and fraternal twins?


6. Which one is older?


7. Which one is your favorite?


8. Which one is smarter?


9. Are they still twins even with different birthdays?


10. Did you know you were having twins?


11. Do they know which one they are?


12. Did you dye the red head's hair so that you could have a red headed daughter?

1. Are they twins?
   
   This is probably the most common question asked when out in public and the usual answer is yes. But, there are times when you get really tired of hearing this particular question and the answer changes to something else.
   
   Example:
   
   No, but they're cousin's.
   We don't think so!
   
   
   
2. Are they boys or girls?
   
   Generally you would think people would know the answer to this once the twins are older but the question persists. Clothing is usually a give away for the sex of the child but it seems to be overlooked most of the time in the case of twins. Our answers tend to relate to the name and sex of the child, something like this.
   
   Example:
   
   The girls are in pink today.
   Joe is in blue and Anne is in yellow.
   

   Back to top

3. Are they identical?
   
   Unless it's obvious that they are boy/girl twins the answer is usually yes, just to get it over with.
   
   
4. Do twins run in your family?
   
   I have found in my experience, most people have no idea how a twin is conceived or what constitutes the fact that it's a genetic trait. We quickly explain that identical twins are basically a freak of nature because the egg splits and thus far there's no explanation for it. Fraternal twins are a family genetic trait.
   
   
5. What is the difference between identical and fraternal twins?
   
   A Fraternal twin or dizygotic twin is the result of the release of 2 eggs by the mother at the same time, both being fertilized. Genetically, these twins are as different as two siblings born to the same parents. This information comes from The Book of TWINS by Debra and Lisa Ganz with Alex Tresniowski published 1998
   
   An identical twin or monozygotic twins is the result of a single fertilized egg splitting after conception. Genetically the twins are alike in both foot and hand prints but have different finger prints.
   

   Back to top

6. Which one is older?
   
   Our response to this question is, this one by a minute. The reaction is sometimes funny with an HUH! following the answer.
   
   
7. Which one is your favorite?
   
   I'm not sure that any of us point out a favorite. Personally I will say, it doesn't matter, I'm going to keep them anyway.
   
   
8. Which one is smarter?
   
   Hmmmm....If they're identical twins, potentially they could posses the same IQ, at the same time we could have equally as intelligent fraternal twins. The answer is? I don't know!
   
   
9. Are they still twins even with different birthdays?
   
   One of our club member answers this question as follows. We just answer "yes because they were made on the same day".
   
   More...
   
   Twins can be born on different birthdays. It is possible that conception of twins did not happen in the same cycle. Therefore birth may occur minutes, hours, or weeks after one another. This means that although the babies are technically twins, their birth dates may be different. Lets not forget twins born at 11:59 pm and 12:00 am.
   

   Back to top

10. Did you know you were having twins?
    
    Most parents are unaware of twins until the first ultra sound has been done. In some cases the twins heart beat is syncronis which means the doctor won't hear two distinct heart beats using a hand monitor. Most of the time, the doctor will check for the common singleton birth until the ultra sound proves otherwise.
    
    
11. Do they know which one they are?
    
    As one club member put it, there's no reply to this one, just a roll of the eyes.
    
    
12. Did you dye the red head's hair so that you could have a red headed daughter?
    
    Twin moms really have to deal with some crazy questions. One mom replied to this question like this. Now mind you, they were only about a year old at the time. I was so blown away that someone thought I would actually dye my baby's hair that I just replied yes and walked away!

Back to top