The Art of Parenting Twins: The Unique Joys and Challenges of Raising Twins and Other Multiples » (1 ED)

Patricia Malmstrom is founder and president of Twin Services, Inc., and its affiliates—the TWINLINE telephone counseling service for parents and the Twinshock Training Curriculum and Network. She holds a graduate degree in early childhood and special education and is one of the foremost authorities on multiple births, serving as vice president of the International Society for Twin Studies.

"CONGRATULATIONS—YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!"

Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.

Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as

- Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's future

And much more—including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.

Library Journal

Malmstrom, a mother of twins and two other children, here offers an excellent guide on raising twins and all multiples, from conception to adulthood. Malmstrom, who founded the nationwide group "Twin Services," writes with knowledge and understanding. She explains that the keys to survival are organization, planning, knowing how to ask for help, and knowing the type of the twins (dizygotic or monozygotic). Malmstrom advocates, for example, co-bedding multiple newborns, breastfeeding, and allowing twins to be schooled in the same classroom. "Twins are a hard happiness," she says, as she details the frustrations and joys of parenting multiples. Throughout, one realizes that being a multiple is very special, endowing those so lucky with a great empathy for others. And, as aging adults, twins enjoy a lasting bond with each other that "regular" siblings do not. Connie Agnew and others' Twins! (LJ 11/1/97) has illustrations for pregnant moms (growth in utero, exercises) but stops with twin development at age one. Malmstrom goes through the teen years, adulthood, and old age. Highly recommended.--Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.