Question

Hi, I'm the mom to identical girls that will be 1 yr old in a month. Right now we paint their toe nails in order for church nursery workers and others to tell them apart, after summer I don't think that will be very practical any longer. My question to you is what do you do to help others tell them apart in school and such?

TIA 4 any suggestions.

 

Even though mine aren't identical, we still have people who don't remember which name goes with which child. In fact, until they started preschool, most of their friends simply called them "MarcJon". I have always dressed mine differently for the most part. When they were younger, they would coordinate. There is one set of boys in their grade, and each has their own "color set", and they don't wear the others' color. More recently they got different haircuts, which makes it much easier to tell them apart!

 

My dad keeps asking for us to get buttons made for them, lol. And one time when they were about 5 months old he used a washable marker and put a "C" and "L" on their foreheads. He's a character. I kinda do like the button idea with their name on it though, but my twins aren't school age so I have no idea if that's a good idea for then. Other than that I just try and teach my family and closest friends the differences I see. They are 2 now, and my brother just finally was able to get them right after I told him that their hair parts opposite.

 

My twins are only 9mths old, but already I wonder this too. I can tell them apart if they are side by side - if they are apart I have to look for their birthmark. Its mirrored, so its easy to tell - IF a person remembers which one goes which way. These birth marks aren't going to stay forever tho - they are the kind that fades. I'm hoping that by the time they are in school their mirror image aspects will crop up again and one will be righty , one a lefty.

I do not dress mine the same, nor do we do colors anymore (as babies we kept one in blue/white and the other green/yellow).

I look forward to others ideas, suggestions and 'works for me' thoughts!!

 

If they will keep hairbows in, always put a specific color in each girl's hair, or get bows (or the buttons that pin to the center of the bow so that they can be used on mult. bows) with their names or initials monogramed on them. Likewise charm bracelets or necklaces with initials work well.

 

Jazzy is a bit bigger than Jess and has curlier hair. I do keep different earrings in to help untrained people tell them apart(Jazz has hoops jessy has hearts). The girls at school have no trouble telling them apart and I always dress them the same

 

My boys are identical and are in the same preschool class. I have them wear different color shoes: Navy sneakers for the boy whose name starts with N, White sneakers for the one whose name starts with W. This makes it easy for teachers to tell them apart (though some of the kids still get them confused) Differentiating shoes is easier than shirts because you only need one or two pairs of particular color shoes per child. I also didn't want the kids to feel like they have to wear a certain color shirt everyday.

But if I had girls, I'd probably give them different hair styles. It's easier for others to identify and you don't have to buy anything special to make them different,.

 

When the kids were in preschool, I used to give them nametags to wear for the first couple weeks. That kind of stuck in my craw, even though I did it voluntarily. I felt like I was de-humanizing them a bit by doing that, like calling them "This one and That one" . (Silly, I know.) They have very different personalities, so once you get to know them you can easily tell them apart.
I used to feel it was my responsibility to point out the differences, and regretted I didn't have a "trick" to tell strangers (like, "the one with dark hair is _______, and the blonde one is ___________" )
But then I realized that people (teachers) usually found a way to tell them apart, and very often it was some trait that I didn't pay attention to! (Like, "________ is SLIGHTLY taller", or "___________ has ninja turtles on his sneakers and his name starts with N"). I think people are kind of pleased with themselves with finding out a way to tell them apart, and it makes them feel accomplished.
Once the kids got old enough to talk, it wasn't an issue anymore. But I kind of enjoyed hearing the different ways to tell them apart that people found!

I once babysat for a lady for the first time, and she asked if I knew her (2-Year-old) twins. I said"Of course!" b/c I wanted to impress her with my babysitting skills. (In truth, I'd never met the kids before). I said, "I just have trouble telling them apart!"
She looked at me kind of strangely, and said "The GIRL is Carla, and the BOY is Jeffrey." So much for cool!

 

My boys have been together in school but I always dress them differently. Next year, however, they will wear uniforms so there goes that idea . Their teacher has gotten to know them well enough to know who is who. The teacher's aide, however, does have to sneak a peek at Will's freckly to tell who is who. Should be interesting next year

 

Aaron always wears a necklace. He started wearing one when he was about 3, he likes them. (Like a leather one with some beads) Connor doesn't wear one. That is one way people can tell if they aren't standing next to each other. When they started preschool, I told their teacher that Connor would always wear white sneakers and Aaron would wear a dark color. That way the teachers just glanced at their feet and knew right away and the boys didn't know that they didn't have a clue. Now Aaron is a bit taller, but unless they are right next to each other, most people can not tell. Of course to me they look very different, but all Moms of id's say that!

 

Put them in different outfits or hairbows. I separated my boys for preschool and I will for K coming up. Teachers and friends thought it okay to treat them as 1 so I decided to separate. As for telling them apart, I will usually dress them in different color shirts unless they are feeling ornery and want to dress themselves to trick people. I have found that there are some people who just don't care to tell them apart like my SIL so I can't do anything to help them.

 

That us too. I found that no matter what I did sometimes, it just didn't matter to some people. So I stopped trying and figured out that its best to just try to let others work it out for themselves. Some people catch on to the differences right away and others .. NEVER.
Although Jayden has a medical ID bracelet with his name on it that helped out alot before he could talk (now you can just ask them which one they are) so maybe you could get them little jewelry ID bracelets with their names on them.

 

Craig always wore something red, even if just his socks. Brian always wore something blue, again even if it was just his socks!

 

Our boys are 7 years old now.

When they were infants, we put name bracelets on them. Then I thought about putting their name bracelets on different hands, so that people could easily tell them apart from across the room, without having to get close to read their names on their hands. Plus, it was easier to tell them apart in pictures.

Initially we had one wearing blue, and the other one white, but we got tired of those colors. So, we just decided that Baby A would wear the lightest shade color of the day, and Baby B the darker shade. That really helped everyone tell them apart.

But I have to tell you, now that our kids are older, people still can't tell them apart. I feel like I should have dressed them the same all these years, to force people to really make an effort and look at their little faces, to identify what sets them apart, instead of always relying on their clothes. It's a shame that friends and family that have known them all their lives, still cannot tell them apart. They are identical, but to me they are entirely different. Once in a blue moon, I notice what others see, the similarities, but for most part I see them as completely different. If you can, dress them the same once in a while!! It may confuse people now, but it may help them differentiate them later!!

 

I bought all non-matching school clothes. They sit apart in the classroom so as long as their teacher makes a mental note of which boy is wearing what color, she'll know for the rest of the day. They would love to make it easier for her by getting some color streaks in their hair but the school doesn't permit that in the dress code. One is right handed and the other left but that doesn't seem to be as obvious for people as I thought.

Their teacher is an ID twin herself and I think that helps avoid the unit mentality.

 

I have always said this ! If you dress them the same then it forces people to find other ways to tell them apart. But it never seems to matter. Whether they are dressed the same or not .. people still have to ask. My boys have different classrooms .. so they don't get mixed up there .. but on the playground at recess, it's back to who's who. I guess it's just a part of being an ID twin !