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Parental and teacher stereotyping

Following multiples over many years in the LaTrobe Twin Study showed that many families (but by no means all) were emphasising the differences between their twins ever more as they got older. By the time the children were adolescents, many more parents were prepared to say one was "better" than the other. Often the pattern had started at birth with the firstborn the other. Often the pattern had started at birth with the firstborn, the heavier one or the one who came home from hospital first being seen as at some advantage. It is worth thinking than 13 or more years later this pattern of differences was still being perpetuated. As David Hay explained in his chapter in Sandbank (1999) (Click on references) there was no reason in terms of the achievements for this stereotype to be perpetuated - the one claimed to be less able was often doing as well or better than the other(s). Plus many things change during development and especially at adolescence:

"It is like I have always been seen to be the "dumb" one. OK I did not do as well as my brother in primary school, but I feel I am on a real roll now we are at high school. But when I do better than my twin brother, it is like it is my fault".

Current views on development emphasise that patterns of development do vary and that those who do well early may not do so well at adolescence and vice versa. The question with multiples is that the children may change in their relative abilities. But are there comparable changes in the long-established views of the parents and the teachers- who often have got most of their information from the parents…So are the young adult multiples frustrated by their development not being recognised?