Being a twin means having to share things from an early age.
A womb.
Parents' attention.
Favorite toys.
When they're babies, they just go with the flow, but as they get older, the constant need to share can get frustrating, especially when they're still learning how to navigate their big feelings.
As a twin myself AND a mom of twin toddlers, I can tell you this is true.
There are some things a twin can have and have them be all their own...usually smaller things that don't take up a huge amount of real estate in your home.
But the reality is that they just have to share certain things, otherwise you'd need a second house to hold all of their belongings.
Where it gets dicey is when they have to share a coveted toy there's only one of.
In our household, it's either Bowser or Shredder.
Even though there are two different toys our twins love, they always seem to want to play independently with the exact same one at the exact same time.
And that's when frustrations—and volumes—can run high.
But there's a simple way to get your twins to take turns with the toy they're fighting over.
Try this easy way to get your twins to share toys
Set a timer on your phone for two minutes and tell them when they hear the music playing, that means it's time to switch toys.
The visual cue of the timer counting down lets them see that time is actually passing.
The visual cue of the timer counting down lets them see that time is actually passing. After a few seconds, they can see progress as the timer moves, so they start playing before their time runs out.
After a minute has passed, their sibling can see they're halfway through their wait-time, so they play patiently with their other toy until it's their turn.
Then, when the timer has finished counting down and reached zero, music starts playing, giving your twins an auditory cue that it's time to switch toys.
Every time I've used this trick with our twins, it's immediately stopped their fighting in its tracks and quieted down the loud moments.
It's taught them how to share and take turns nicely.
It's taught them how to share and take turns nicely.
Granted, your twins have to be old enough to be able to grasp the concept of sharing and time passing, so this approach may not work in the early days of squabbles over toys.
But once they can comprehend this idea, it makes those moments easier to navigate.
At first, I had to set a timer every two minutes and they'd ask when it was time to swtich. But the more they took turns, the longer they could go in between timers.
Sometimes, I didn't even have to set a timer; they'd just ask if their turn was over or it was time to swtich yet and would offer to swtich while I enjoyed a cup of coffee.
If your twins keep fighting over a coveted toy, it's worth giving this trick a try.
How do you get your twins to stop fighting over toys? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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