From time to time, I have the opportunity to treat twins.
Some are identical, some are fraternal.
The identical twins are the mirror opposite of each other but even then, I can identify which is oldest child by the loss of the baby teeth.
This is always fun because being the oldest twin is always an issue amongst the two. Judging by the development of the teeth, is not always correct.
It does not make any difference because with twins, its psychological, not anatomical, who is the older.
What happens when the parents refuse to identify which twin is older?
Everyone needs a birth order and twins are no different.
The parents of one set of identical twins I treated used the argument that they didn’t want to cause any rivalry between the girls as they worry about keeping things “equal” or establishing a sibling rivalry.
This set of twins did not know who the eldest was. Their behavior was quite interesting because they switched back and forth between leader and follower.
I didn’t realize how important knowing your position in the family meant to a child.
This set of twins could not establish their own identities. They developed their own language, which is not uncommon among twins.
These girls never fully adapted to school or in society. Following their life’s as adults, I found that they have been in therapy for years.
Everyone needs to know who they are; your birth order is your life’s fingerprint.
About the Author
I am Dr. Robert Hurst author of Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects Your Path Throughout Life. I am an Orthodontist and have been observing my patients for over 50 years seeing how their birth orders affected their lives.
I would like to share with you how I use birth order to help my patients see who they are and why they act the way they do.