As summer comes to an end, it’s almost time to return to school. You’ve learned that your twins will be in the same class, and you are aware that their teacher will have trouble differentiating between them.
It is hard enough for parents, let alone teachers that only spend a few hours a day with the twins. As you prepare for this upcoming school year, here are a few ideas to think about that will help your twins’ teacher remember who is who!
1. Dress Each Child in the Same Color Every Day
While it will limit your twins’ wardrobe and might be a little boring, dressing each twin in the same color every day can help their teacher learn who is who.
You can have each twin pick their favorite color and that will be the color they always wear to school.
To add a little more variety, maybe pick two colors for each twin and stick with that for the school year, at least until the teacher has gained confidence and can tell the twins apart.
2. Color Code Accessories
If you don’t want your twins wearing the same color shirt every day of the school year, try color coding an accessory that they wear daily!
This option will be easier for girls since there are more accessory options. Different color hair bows are a great way to identify twin girls! For example, one twin can always wear a pink hair bow while the other always wears a purple hair bow.
Other options include beads, scarves, belts, or backpacks. For boys, different colored athletic wristbands might do the trick.
3. Use Unique Accessories For Each Twin
If you still want to dress your twins alike, you can opt to give each twin something unique to wear that will set them apart from his/her identical counterpart.
This option can allow your twins to explore their own unique personalities and choose what they want to wear to be a little different from the other.
Different jewelry can be a fun way to tell your twin girls apart while athletic wristbands or hats are a good option for boys. Personalized accessories with names or initials are also a simple way to differentiate between twins.
4. Different Hairstyles
Different hairstyles are a fantastic way to make identical twins look less identical! For girls, one may prefer pigtails while the other prefers braids.
For boys, you can experiment with parting their hair on different sides or one can rock a combover while his brother goes for the spiked look.
5. Different Hair Lengths
Maybe one of your twins prefers his/her hair longer while their sibling likes the short look. Perfect! This is an easy help for teachers and also allows your twins to express who they are and be unique.
6. Shoe Styles
If twins have different shoes, all the teacher has to do is glance at their feet and she will know which is which. The shoes can be different styles or simply different colors. The key is to be consistent.
So, when you go back-to-school shoe shopping, have each twin pick out a different pair and stick with that pair all year!
7. Assigned Style of Socks
Socks come in many colors, designs, and types! Let each twin choose their favorite, and that is what they can wear.
One can wear ankle socks while the other sports knee socks. One twin can always wear white socks while the other wears black socks.
Do they both like black socks? No problem. Try switching up the brands and make sure the different logos are showing. You get the gist of it.
8. Explain Slight Differences to Teachers
Most identical twins will have something that sets them apart, whether it is a birthmark, smaller eyes, slightly different face shape, or even differences in their dominant hands — there is probably something that you can point out to their teacher that will help her remember their names.
9. Name Association
Most people who have met a pair of identical twins can agree that even though they look the same, they definitely do not always act the same!
Name association is pairing a name with something, usually a personality trait, in a creative way to help you identify that person.
Pick a personality trait that fits each twin and starts with the same letter as his/her name (e.g., Sassy Sally, Loud Luke). This will help teachers learn more about your child while also helping to identify the twins.
10. Different Color Nail Polish for Each Twin
Lots of little girls love getting their fingernails painted. Each time you paint them, try painting each girl’s nails a different color.
They will more than likely love to show off their pretty nails to their teacher, and the teacher can tell your twins apart by their nail color.
11. Themed Stickers
Do your twins love stickers? Perfect! Give each twin a different sticker “theme,” and they only wear stickers that fit their theme.
One twin might always wear animal stickers and the other one can wear flower stickers. One might love basketball stickers and the other might prefer dinosaurs. This is such a fun idea!
12. Name Tags
Old faithful! You can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned name tag if that is more your style. Alternatively, you could embroider your twins’ names or initials onto things they wear such as jewelry, shirts, and backpacks.
Conclusion
Ultimately, spending enough time with your twins will help their teacher be able to identify them more easily.
There is no denying that it is tough in the beginning, however. Everyone needs a few tricks to rely on until they can tell twins apart on their own.
Hopefully, most twins will have patience with their teacher as she learns and will enjoy trying these new things to be a little different than their twin. We hope that you find one of these suggestions helpful and can put it into action this school year!
Mom of three (including identical twin boys), wife, and owner of Parents Wonder. This is my place to share my journey as a mother and the helpful insights I learn along the way.