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Safety in Numbers
Corralling Twins and Keeping Them Safe
By Alexandria Powell
Every parent of multiples has a horror story about the toddler years. For me, the topper was when my 2-year-old twin daughters woke up before everyone in the house and decided to feed our goldfish – using sugar, ground coffee and the contents of our spice rack. Thankfully, the girls were filthy but unharmed, and we even managed to save one of the fish.
"The thing with twin toddlers is, even if you can't imagine it, they can," says Elizabeth Lyons, author of Ready or Not ... There We Go! The REAL Experts' Guide to the Toddler Years with Twins (Finn-Phyllis Press, 2006). Twins, triplets and higher order multiples can and will work together, wreaking the kind of havoc a singleton couldn't dream of.
And then there's the distraction factor, says Pamela Fierro, author of The Everything Twins, Triplets and More Book (Adams Media Corporation, 2005). When you've got a house full of toddlers, it can be difficult – often impossible – to keep an eye on every child at every moment. While you're coping with one child's tantrum, the other may be cruising toward the basement stairs or Fido's food dish.
"I think that multiples tend to be a little bit braver or a little bit more reckless," Fierro says. "It's the team mentality: 'I'll do it if you'll do it.' I think they're more likely [than singletons] to wander off in public, open a door and walk right out of the house or explore things that could be dangerous. Parents have to be constantly alert and constantly anticipating situations. Even though the baby days are exhausting with multiples, the toddler years can be equally so because of this."
Parents of multiples have to take childproofing to another level, Fierro says. If your twins, triplets or more are cruising toward their toddler years, here's a look at how you can prepare.