1) Are they twins? I concede that you might not know for sure with fraternal twins who are very dissimilar, especially boy/girl twins. But, seriously, you're looking at my girls who are practically mirror images of each other, and you're asking me whether they're twins? Do you need to have your vision checked?
2) Are they identical or fraternal? We don't know.
3) What do you mean, you don't know? How can you not know? There's a gray area, people. And we're not willing to draw blood from them just to find out whether they're identical or not. We don't really care that much. (But we think they're identical.)
4) Do twins run in your family? No. Not that it matters, especially if the girls are identical. Identical twins aren't hereditary. And all the fraternal twins I know were born to moms who don't have twins in the family, so I guess it doesn't matter for them, either.
A twist on that question: "Are twins on your side or your husband's side?" Well, neither, but if they were on his side, it would have no bearing whatsoever on whether I'd have twins. For twins to be "in your family," so to speak, you have to be a woman with a blood relation to a woman who has given birth to fraternal twins. Men have nothing to do with it. (Sorry, guys.)
[Full disclosure: Okay, so my great-grandmother had twins who died shortly after birth. We don't know whether they were fraternal or not, but I guess that could mean that maybe I do have twins in my family. I always forget about that. And, yes, my cousin and his wife have adorable twin boys. That doesn't count, because I'm not related to my cousin's wife, and their boys are almost certainly identical, like my girls.]
5) Did you use fertility treatments? [Usually this is more of an assumption than a question: Look at that, another set of fertility-treatment twins.] Not that it's any of your business, but no. I think people assumed that, since we'd been married for seven years before we got pregnant, surely there must have been fertility issues. Nope. We just weren't ready for kids those first seven years. When we finally did decide to get pregnant, we made up for lost time with our two-for-one deal.
6) [And I'm not kidding here -- you'd be shocked by how many people ask this.] Which one is the bad one? Ask me when they're 13, and I'm sure I'll say they both are.
(All you twin moms, feel free to chime in with the obnoxious questions people ask you over and over and over again.)
11 comments:
Now that my twins are older, we don't get asked as many questions. Although, you can see the assumptions on their faces.
My favorite, so far, was we were in the grocery store. The clerk asked the boys how old they were. They both said, "Eight." Then she asked them when their birthday was. They said, "December 1." Then she turned to me and said, "My gosh! How did that happen?" I said, "Uh. They're twins." She said, "OH!" Like the thought never occurred to her.
We have fraternal twin boys. They look like brothers, but not identical. I love when people say, "They look just alike!" Boloney. They look nothing alike. I think people just assume they need to say that. And their soccer coach always calls them the wrong name. I'm going to get My Name Is stickers for next practice because I'm sick of it.
I'm sorry. I know I've taken up quite a bit of room...but "Which one is the bad one?" What's up with that? I've never heard that one, thank goodness. I don't think I could bite my tongue hard enough not to say something really sarcastic.
Yesterday, a woman asked us whether Sophia is a Leo. I said, "No, they're Geminis." (Funny, huh?) And the woman says, "Both of them?"
I still shake my head at "Which one is the bad one?" Who thinks that's hilarious to ask a stranger? Funny from a friend (although apparently trite ... hmph), not so hilarious from a total stranger.
I will just add my opinion to your questions:
1)I understand when people ask me that question now, because she speaks like a 5 year old and he speaks like a 1 year old....but, when they were babies...come on people--they are exactly the same size.
2)My favorite question--I get this all the time....my answer, yes except he has a penis;) I know, I'm evil. I guess people just don't understand how it works.
4)Yes...twins do run in my family. So now you know one set of fraternals that were quite possibly hereditary.
5)Nope...I think we are twins Kelly, we also waited 7 years.
Which one is smarter? I just got this the other day...and I said that it wasn't a fair question as the boy had cerebral palsy--that shut them right up.
This is a statement rather than a question: Oh what adorable girls!
Even when he was dressed very much like a boy(sometimes even in a suit/tie), and her a girl.
Kelly...It had never really occurred to me before, but, twins could have different birthdays--one being born before midnight, one after...Anyone know any twins with different birth dates? Hmmm, so maybe you should give the stranger the benefit of doubt---NOT :)
I've heard people compare twins and say this one or that one is cuter. If that happens, Grandma will come and punch out some lights.
They're both the most beautiful girls in the world, and that's my unbiased opinion.
I don't care which side of the family they came from, I'm just thrilled that there here.
So is your Grandma Mildred.
P.S.
The evil twin is Pepper.
I wonder if they will both hide in the attic while their Dad searches for them, talking threateningly to a pile of stuffed animals...
Nanette, I can't believe people have actually asked you which one is smarter. Unbelievable. If anyone ever asks me that, they're likely to walk away bloody.
My worst questions of late are: Which one is your favorite? They can't be twins, they must be cousins!!
Hi I'm a twin! The smaller twin! Both of us are girls! But I'm not identical to my other twin which is good but people always say we look alike, but I really can’t see it! Twins run in our family! Both of our personalities are different! I’m sporty while she's girly. My science teacher even wants a DNA test off us!? The most common question we get asked after our parents have told them were twins is this “When’s your birthday?” My twin replies 26th of Feb and they ask me the same questions?! My dad’s like “Hello Twins! Same birthday!” But there is a question I’d liked to be answered is this is the smaller twin weaker emotionally?
So if anyone has an answer I just like to know! Please contact me on latifa786@yahoo.co.uk
Thanks you in advanced!
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