From the multiples and more blog, here's the question of the week:
How do you encourage your multiples to develop and maintain their own individual identities?
Do you plan to, or already separate them in school?
We chose to separate our kids in school from the beginning. When they started school we were living in a very small house and they all four shared a bedroom, so the time apart at school was very important to them. They each took great pride and ownership of their own classrooms. Aside from that, we also wanted them to make their own friends rather than cling to each other. It's worked out great for us.
Do you encourage your kids to pursue separate interests, or try to keep them in the same activities?
We encourage them to pursue the things they are interested in and strive to work out the kinks when they happen. There's been everything from soccer to fencing to choir and a whole lot in between. We encourage them to try new things if they're interested, but once they sign up they have to finish out their commitment even if they decide they don't like it.
What are your feelings on dressing multiples alike? Coordinating names?
We've never dressed them alike and their names don't coordinate. I figure that they get treated like parts of a whole often enough, I don't want to encourage that any more than is necessary.
If your kids are older, do they still like to, or choose to dress alike?
They don't chose to dress alike now either. Heck, I'm not sure they even talk to each other when they're at school.
What specific things do you do to help encourage your children's individuality?
We encourage them to do the things that interest them, regardless of whether it interests any of the others. Especially when they were younger Dax or I would take one of them with us when we ran errands so that they could have some alone time with us. (We usually stopped for lunch too.) Dax makes sure to spend time with Wyatt doing 'guy' things and the girls like for us to have girls' day out (which for them means going shopping.)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
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3 comments:
I hear you on separating them at school. In preschool I have chosen not to split them, but it's all logistics... when the preschool classes go on field trips, they don't all go on the same day and it would be a huge juggling act for me if they were in different classes. Once they're in kindergarten, though, it's going to be a different story. I can already see that being in a separate class will be good for one of my girls... she's very social, but she tends to wait for cues from her sisters before jumping into an activity.
I like that you make your kids stick to their commitment. I'm wondering if they all tried out a sport together? Or some of them at least in the beginning?
So far Wyatt and Addison have tried out soccer and fencing together and all three girls played volley ball together.
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