• Dominance and Submissiveness in Twins: The Pecking Order

    Dominance and Submissiveness in Twins: The Pecking Order

    Despite looking particularly identical recently, the Twins are becoming wildly different in personality. As they grow, the difference between them becomes more apparent; and it feels inevitable that one emerges at the top of the pecking order. It seems only natural, as part of the animal kingdom, that there be one dominant twin and one…

  • Double Trouble: Twins Behaving Badly

    Double Trouble: Twins Behaving Badly

    As I previously mentioned in ‘Toys for Twin Toddlers‘, my boys’ first birthday brought with it a sudden surge of squabbling. Unfortunately, it hasn’t improved, and we have a major case of twins behaving badly. They’re adorable when they play together, giggle and cuddle each other, but they’re pretty infuriating when they fight over everything…

  • Pumpkin Wars: The Six Year Old Competitive Streak.

    With Halloween on the horizon, yesterday afternoon I managed to find myself in the middle of some competitive carving. This is the fourth year my daughter and I have carved pumpkins together. Normally she would help design and draw, but she hasn’t really had the ability or strength to carve. Last year she gave it a good…

  • Poopcrastination: A child’s guide to difficult questions.

    Listen up kids… My daughter is six and she is an expert in avoiding chores, homework or basically anything she thinks is rubbish. Here’s her guide which I’ve aptly named Poopcrastination: A child’s guide to answering difficult questions. 1. When your parents ask you to tidy your room, just tell them you “need a really…

  • Whiplash – Knowing when to break your kid’s balls.

    If you haven’t seen the movie Whiplash, put it on your must-see list. It’s about the relationship between an extremely strict and ruthless college teacher and one of his talented music students. The poor kid is hammered down until breaking point, but ultimately becomes a better player and stronger person for it, despite the literal…