Top 15 Stupid Things People Say to Parents Of Twins

The Top 15 Stupid Things People Say to Parents of Twins

15. “I could never do it.” (Oh really. What would you do? Are you suggesting I put them on the curb with signs around their necks that say, “Free to a good home. My mom can’t do it.”?)

14. “Do they have different personalities?” (No. They are the same human being divided into two parts.)

13. Said by a stranger, “They’re identical, right?” Mom answers, “No. They’re fraternal.” Stranger response, “They are NOT!” (OK. You’re right. I have no idea what I’m talking about. These are not my children. I thought it would be fun to borrow them from a mom down at Baby Gap. It’s been more than an hour. I guess I should return them.)

12. “Are they ‘paternal’ twins?” (Yes. They have a father. There was only one virgin birth.)

11. “Just wait till they’re older. It only gets harder.” (Thank you. I woke up this morning hoping I’d receive a word of discouragement while pushing a cart of preschoolers down the cereal aisle.)

10. “When one cries, does he wake the other?” (No. Twins cannot hear each other’s cries because they all communicate with their special telepathic language only.)

9. From a perfect stranger: “Were they in the same sac?” (Hello. Nice to meet you, too. Will you be sharing your gynecological history with me as well?)

8. “Are they developmentally behind?” (Well, let’s see. They’re 3 years old and thus far, all their graduate school applications have been denied. We’ll get back with you on that.)

7. “How do you do it?” (Haven’t you seen the Nike commercials?)

6. Said by a dentist: “I was shocked that they didn’t have the same bite patterns.” (They are two different human beings, not clones.)

5. “You must be SO busy.” (Are you volunteering to clean my house?)

4. Said to a mom of fraternal twins who are different sizes, have different eye color and different face structure: “How do you tell them apart?” (I just look at them.)

3. “What do you do when they both cry at the same time?” (Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I go to Starbucks.)

2. Said to a mom of boy/girl twins: “Are they identical?” (Uh. Not exactly.)

1. Only one comment could be voted No. 1. The choice was clear. Drum roll, please. After a stranger had been informed that the toddler boys were twins, she asked a simple question: “Are they brothers?” (Enough said.)

Let’s be honest. People are fascinated with twins. They don’t mean to say stupid things. It just happens. It happens to all of us. Saying stupid things is one activity that joins us all together as human beings. Learn to forgive the frailties of others and enjoy the laughs later. Life is a journey. Enjoy the double-stroller roller coaster ride!

17 comments:

danette said...

This is too funny, as a twin mom for 7 yrs I've heard all of them (and then some). btw #11 is totally wrong, it actually gets easier as they get older (thank goodness!)

#3 without fail everyone who watched our boys as babies asked us that, and none of them offered to babysit a second time...

bernthis said...

I thought being a single mom to a five year old had it's own set of morons

such as:
I was in NYC last week sans my kid.

question to me: Well then where is your daughter?

me: A locker in LaGuardia airport.

(with her father you moron)

I know how you feel

christine said...

i got this one a few months ago:

stranger, "they twins?"
me, "yes."
stranger, "they yours?"
me, "yes."
stranger, "both of 'em?"

Unknown said...

A waitress in a restaurant asked me "Are they both twins?" I said "No, just one of them." haha. She turned red and realized the funny question.

Audacious Idealism said...

Hee hee! I can sooo relate. We have boy, girl, boy triplets. Here's one I wrote about the same thing: http://svmomblog.typepad.com/la_moms_blog/2008/11/things-people-s.html

Unknown said...

When asked if our identical twins are twins we like to respondw with "No, they're just good friends."

Michele said...

When asked if our B/G twins are identical, I usually say "Yes, except he has a penis."

Mon said...

A mom of triplets whose blog I read was once askes "Are they triplets? Yes. Are they all yours?"

Jack and Kyle's Mom said...

I didn't get to bring both of my boys home, but when I was pregnant I heard all kinds of comments that made me scratch my head. I would hear comments like "I guess you're done," - (really? didn't realize there was a two child cap on having babies) or "Hopefully they'll be boy/girl twins and you won't have to go through pregnancy again," - (seriously, where is it written when you have one of each it's a "complete family") or one of my personal favorites "oh they're both boys so they're identical" - (actually no, they're fraternal...and the argument ensues) My favorite comment to make - Do twins run in your family? "After about a year or so, I imagine they'll be running, climbing and having all kinds of fun."

Most insensitive comment after my son passed - "Well, having twins would have been difficult and expensive."

And second in the insensitive category - "You're lucky there's only two" followed closely by - "what are you going to do if there's more than one." Yes I had to go through infertility treatment to get pregnant. I would have love each and every child I was blessed to carry. When you're faced with the possibility of not being able to have a child you feel like you've won a million dollars when the little stick says "pregnant."

Dawn said...

Oh man. I've heard almost all of these. So great. One time in Starbucks I had a man tell me, about my boy twins: "Good for you for bringing two pee-pees into the world." What.

Melodie said...

Twin grandaughters. Only one came home. Least favorite comment for "consolation"? "Well, she never would have been 'right' anyway". Seriously? And this is supposed to make you feel better how??

Asa Grunberg said...

Can I add, got this comment on my twins when they were about 8 months old:
How old are they?
A: 8 months
Both of them?

waitingforbedtime said...

Love these! Hilarious. You have your hands full. You must be busy. Are they twins? http://judeandlevi.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-survived.html

Just Kristen said...

After having said they are identical...being told:" He looks like you and the other looks like your husband."
Sure.....:)

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The Bruffey Family said...

As a twin, my sister and I used to just laugh about things people would say or ask - I even wrote a poem about it in the 5th grade :-) One that always cracked us up - to one of us: "When is your birthday?" twin 1 would answer, then, inevitably, same person would ask twin 2: "and when is yours?" hmmmm... I mean, I KNOW we could be a day or so apart - but it always cracked us up! We were 2 months early, so we started saying our real birthday (twin 1) and our actual due date (twin 2)!

Kami said...

I'm a homeschool mom to a 10yr old daughter, 7 yr old son and 3 yr old Quadruplets. We definitely here a lot of crazy stuff! Great post! Someone just shared it with me. :)