Is raising twin toddlers harder than raising newborns? Yes.
But don’t get me wrong: there are parts of my life during the newborn twin phase that I literally don’t remember.
It’s as if I blacked out from sleep deprivation. What I do remember is all blurred together; pump, feed the babies, change their diapers, put them down for a nap, corral my two-year-old… repeat continuously 24 hours a day.
I thought FOR SURE, once they sleep through the night, my life will be so much easier!
And it’s easier in some ways… but in other ways, it’s actually much harder. Honestly, no matter what season you are in twin parenting, your hands are full.
But here are all of the ways that raising twin toddlers is more difficult than raising newborn twins.
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Raising Twin Toddlers: They Sleep Less Than Newborn Twins
My newborn twins took a two-hour nap every 3-hours.
Even though they weren’t yet sleeping through the night (read about how we got our twins to sleep through the night <–) and I was exhausted from not sleeping through the night as well, they took naps all day long.
Now that they are toddlers, they only take one nap.
While I love having them awake and getting to play and interact with them, it’s a lot of work managing toddler twins… all… day… long.
Independent playtime is definitely a lifesaver for us!
Toddler Twins Can Move
Newborns can’t move. Toddlers can move. Really fast.
We work really hard to teach our children obedience, and that includes stopping when we say stop. However, even the best-behaved toddler isn’t going to listen 100% of the time.
Just a few weeks ago, my husband had all 3 kids out on a walk by himself. Josie and Margo wanted to walk, so he let them out of the stroller.
They reached our driveway and instead of coming into the yard as he told them to, they bolted and ran down the road as fast as they could.
By the time he caught up to them, they had run down the block and turned the corner, shrieking in laughter the entire way. He scooped them up, one in each arm, and carried them home kicking and screaming.
Here’s a post I wrote on tips to safely take toddler twins out in public alone. My husband reads my blog but he clearly needs to reread this post because he forgot what it’s like to be a twin parent to little ones who love to run.
Raising Twin Toddlers: They Want To Be Independent
“I do it myself!” or “me do it!” are phrases that I hear all day long.
Car seats.
Shoes.
High chairs.
Opening and shutting doors.
Simple tasks take freaking forever because two adorable little twins scream at me if I try to help them. Margo one time actually fought me because she wanted to wear two left shoes and I wouldn’t let her.
A common picture is me walking to our car after dropping Theo off at preschool, holding a kicking and screaming twin under each arm.
They refuse to hold my hand while crossing the road and I can’t use the stroller because there are stairs to get into the building.
So. I end up with two
I probably get a million weird looks but I don’t even have the capacity to notice people’s reactions because I’m too busy trying to prevent my children from walking in front of a bus.
Read –> my tips for handling tantrums with toddler twins.
Toddlers Have Big Feelings
Big feelings often equate to big tantrums, AND twins frequently feed off of each other. This means if one of your toddler twins is melting down because you won’t let them throw toys out of the window, the other one will likely start crying as well.
There is no logic.
There have been times when my twins are screaming and thrashing around so much that I have to put them in their cribs and walk away.
They usually calm down enough so that I can at least talk them through the problem when I come back.
They Have Big, Contrasting Opinions
Toddlers have big opinions.
Toddler twins often have opposite opinions.
It can make something that should be simple, such as T.V. time, a huge battle.
One twin will be screaming for Paw Patrol while the other one wants to watch Daniel Tiger.
They Can Steal Each Other’s Toys
“No” is a favorite word of my toddler twins, but “mine” is a close second.
They will be perfectly content playing together until they both want the same toy.
You may be thinking “oh, just buy two of everything!” That sounds like a brilliant idea, but it doesn’t work.
Half the time, they fight over something that we have two of the exact same thing of. They still will fight over the same one.
Related –> Here are the best toys for toddler twins!
Raising Twin Toddlers: Behavior
They fight. All. The. Time.
My girls are actually very sweet girls but my goodness, the fighting. They fight over the most ridiculous things. Like what you ask?
My twin girls have the same fight every time we pull into our driveway.
One of them will cheerfully announce “we’re home!”
Then the other one will disagree. “No, we’re here.”
The other one will then turn on their mean voice (which is actually really stinking cute, but so naughty!) and shout “NO, HOME.”
Then they both start screaming “NO, HERE!” and “NO, HOME!” back and forth. They are so loud that they don’t even hear me unless I shout back at them.
I usually step out of the van and leave them until they stop screaming.
Here is how we handle fighting with toddler twins.
They Wake Each Other Up
At naptime, Margo usually goes down willingly. Josie, on the other hand, usually gets put into her crib, kicking and screaming.
After I leave their room, I usually hear “MARMO. WAKE UP MARMO. MARMOOOOOOO. Marmo, wake up!”
After a few minutes, Margo usually stands up and I hear them singing and playing together from their cribs. It’s really pretty cute, but results in cranky, overtired toddlers!
Raising twin toddlers is certainly a handful and I definitely covered that today! Check back next week because I’ll be posting all of the best things about having toddler twins!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see all of our twin cuteness!
other helpful posts
“Your Hands Are Full” and Other Things Twin Moms Are Tired of Hearing
What To Do When Your Toddler Twins Won’t Nap
What To Do When Your Twins Climb Out of Their Cribs
How to Handle the Crib to Bed Transition Without Losing Your Mind
