The Art of Parenting Twins: The Unique Joys and Challenges of Raising Twins and Other Multiples (Paperback)

by Patricia Malmstrom (Author), Janet Poland (Author) "I found these lines scribbled in an old notebook I'd used as a journal when my daughters were babies..." (more)
Key Phrases: care handout collection, twin parenting, newborn multiples, Twin Services (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Over the past 20 years, the number of twin and multiple births has risen by 50 percent, yet information on caring for twins and multiples remains sparse. Most child-care books touch lightly on the subject of multiples--here's one that fills in the gaps. Authors Patricia Maxwell Malmstrom, founder of TWINLINE (providing services for parents of twins) and mother of twins, and Janet Poland, parenting writer, address the issues and concerns of parents of multiples with aplomb and reassurance. From the moment parents-to-be discover that they are having more than one child, they enter what the authors call "twinshock," a state of stunned disbelief soon followed by elation, despair, and many questions: "How will I tell my babies apart?" (Leave their hospital bracelets on, or paint one baby's toenails until there is no doubt in your mind) and "Will I ever go anywhere ever again?" (Yes. With planning.)

Malmstrom and Poland cover the biology and causes of twinning; the emotional terrain of parenting multiples; the differences between twin and single pregnancy; twin development in babyhood, toddlerhood, the preschool and school-age years, and adolescence; and twins' relationships with each other from babyhood to adulthood. An excellent chapter provides help in coping with difficulties--financial problems, single parenthood, divorce, twin loss, and disability. The authors provide intensely practical details on twin care, especially for babies (yes, they stress, you can breastfeed multiples). Throughout, the authors dispel myths, provide tips, and help fill the dearth of information that, until now, parents of multiples have faced. Malmstrom writes, "My hope is that someday parents of twins will have as much information as all other parents about how to nourish their children's healthy physical and psychological development." In this book, she and her coauthor have begun to provide just that. --Ericka Lutz

From Library Journal
Malmstrom, a mother of twins and two other children, here offers an excellent guide on raising twins and all multiples, from conception to adulthood. Malmstrom, who founded the nationwide group "Twin Services," writes with knowledge and understanding. She explains that the keys to survival are organization, planning, knowing how to ask for help, and knowing the type of the twins (dizygotic or monozygotic). Malmstrom advocates, for example, co-bedding multiple newborns, breastfeeding, and allowing twins to be schooled in the same classroom. "Twins are a hard happiness," she says, as she details the frustrations and joys of parenting multiples. Throughout, one realizes that being a multiple is very special, endowing those so lucky with a great empathy for others. And, as aging adults, twins enjoy a lasting bond with each other that "regular" siblings do not. Connie Agnew and others' Twins! (LJ 11/1/97) has illustrations for pregnant moms (growth in utero, exercises) but stops with twin development at age one. Malmstrom goes through the teen years, adulthood, and old age. Highly recommended.ALinda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345422678
• ISBN-13: 978-0345422675
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #310,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The world has been waiting for a book like this., February 21, 2000

By	Louise Kiaha (Hawaii, USA) - See all my reviews

This book belongs in any household with twins or triplets. It is the most helpful book on raising twins that I have ever seen. The expert information is very useful and it is written so well that you wont put it down until you are done. This is a must have for anyone with a set of multiples in their family!

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT AS BAD AS SOME OTHER "TWIN" GUIDES BUT...., October 24, 2002

By A Customer

I still would not reccomend this book to anyone I know expecting twins.
My boy/girl twins are now 16 weeks old, and I still feel this book is full of mixed information... I was very happy to read all of the information on the different types of twins but felt this may have been the bright spot in the book.
After a COMPLETELY disatrous experience reading The Joy of Twins, I felt this was at least marginally better.
I am still quite disapointed in this book when it comes to how it made me feel with regards to my personal choices of bottle feeding my children as well as going back to work.
I am still searching for a realistic and honest book on the complications, elations, frustrations and pure joys of having twins....If this is what you too are looking for, don't bother spending your money here.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Has some good information, but..., September 4, 2000

By	Ann (Cedar City, Ut United States) - See all my reviews

If you're the kind of person that wants good information in a condenced format, this book can be a bit frustrating. It is very "wordy", and I found myself scanning each page looking for the real information. Also, much of the information presented is "common sense". I'm sure that some people could benefit from this book, but if you have average intelligence, it may not be very helpful.