'You've got your hands full'

Do you mind when people refer to your children as "the twins" or "the triplets"?

I SORT of know I shouldn't care about this, yet I do. I know it's not the end of the world and there are lots more pressing matters we can all turn our minds to, but when people call my daughters "the twins", it irritates me.

"They have names, you know," I want to point out. (But of course don't because then well, the other person would see that I sort of cared about something so outwardly trivial.)

Does having boy/girl twins make you emphasise your daughter's femininity?

I'VE not heard of this before, but it's a question that was recently raised by a new aunt of a brother and sister.

If you've heard of this happening, or feel you may have done it yourself, then please get in touch.

I'd love to hear your experiences. Or if you are the parent of boy/girl twins and feel strongly that this isn't the case, please let me know why.

As this isn't a question I'd happened across before, I thought it could make quite an interesting discussion.

From X Factor to Eurovision hopefuls: What next for The Twins?

THIS sister act has been around for a while, hasn't it?

They come across as lovely, warm girls - perfect say for kids' TV, but they're not Eurovision material really, are they?

Or perhaps I should say they could be, if the competition this year wasn't so strong.

Personally, I find it a tiny bit annoying to see them encouraged to flag up how they feel they 'are the same person' - as they do in the video below. But I understand that's how these things work.

And here's how they did on X Factor:

Double the trouble for lazy authors

DID you see the BBC’s star-studded adaptation of Little Dorrit at the weekend? It went straight for the ‘evil twin’ cliffhanger as Mrs Flintwich came face to face with her husband’s doppelganger in the dead of night.

Dickens is not the only author to have trodden the well-worn path of mysterious, shady, mischievous or downright evil twins.

I wrote about this in the Guardian's book blog this week. I hate to see writers lazily rehashing stereotypes about twins so was pleased that people agreed it was a point worth making.

There are also some fantastic suggestions in the comments for new reads featuring characters who are twins or triplets so I hope I can check some out.

Thank you again to everyone who got in touch with suggestions about portrayals of twins which drive them up the wall!

What's the fascination with twins, triplets or more?

WHAT'S the big deal? What's the point of this blog?

This interesting piece from BBC Online reports on some of the fascination with multiple birth children, especially identical twins.

Here's a snippet:

And in the West twins, triplets and other multiples are a staple of daytime television on shows that are the modern-day take on the freak show.

Poll: Should I ask my daughters' school to put them in different classes next year?

WHEN my daughters started school, there was no doubt in my mind they should be separated.

This was because I believe they need to be seen and act as individuals from day one. Some families may feel four is too young. We had rare moments where Emily cried a little from missing her sister, but overall they were more than fine, and have been ever since - together or apart.

Of course you have to do what is right for your own family and I would never knock anyone for the decision concerning their children as they know them better than anyone else.

Now, as Year Five is approaching, because of reasons too complicated to describe fully, but linked with the number of children at the school, they have been in the same class for the last school year.

Where now for Samanda?

SAY what you like about sisters Sam and Amanda who were runners up in Big Brother, (and we did have quite a lot to say about it of course,) what you can't take away from them is that they are obviously such sweet, kind girls. They never received a single nomination.

Central News camera adds four stone shocker

I HAD a call from Central News this afternoon and this is the result. I'm sure there must have been something up with the camera, as I look as big as six houses. (The link is to the whole of the programme by the way and I am the happy little chubby chops lady about six minutes in.)

I'm talking about encouraging individuality in twins, which was handy as I was talking to Jane Denton at the Multiple Births Foundation about this just last week.

Central got in touch as they wanted an expert commentator on multiple birth issues after a mum took her 11-year-old boys out of school rather than let them be separated for 20 minutes. Trouble was I'd gone home with a poorly tummy.

I kept saying I wasn't in any position to judge another mum for her decision, but yes in my own personal opinion, it's a good idea to separate twins. I'm just glad I didn't have to run off for the sort of explosion that really could have made things worse on camera.

X Factor...I wonder how many twins there'll be this year?

...AND can they beat this?

Lowri Turner on her mixed race daughter

THIS piece has really put the cat among the pigeons. And it's no wonder.

Jan pointed it out this morning. You can see from the comments on the article itself the sort of reaction it has sparked.

I just find it very sad. What does it say about a woman who pitches a piece on feeling "insulted" that her baby has a darker skin? And of course what the hell does it say about a paper who snaps that piece up?