If
you have or are expecting multiples, then you know how very few good
books are actually out there, especially for higher order multiples.
Raising
Multiple Birth Children - Surviving The First Three Years of Twins
& Supertwins was written by triplet parents. They have experienced
and continue to experience the joy, hard work, laughter, love and
tears that most of us with multiples have felt.
The Authors, William and Sheila Laut, wrote this book because they
realized how hard it was to find information on raising multiples.
It is a very humorous and extremely easy book to read. It is filled
with tips and advice not only from the authors, but also from other
parents of multiples. Their family isn't a conventional one, Bill
is a stay at home Dad and Sheila works full time outside of the house.
I think all of us parents can agree with Bill when he says on page
114 "I have never worked so hard, so many hours, for so little pay
and loved it so much!"
This book covers pretty much all aspects of raising multiples. It
goes into great detail regarding financial issues, which as we all
know, is a big factor since it costs so much to raise children, especially
if you have two or more at the same time since everything is doubled
and tripled. I always laugh when people ask me if I plan to go back
to work, because daycare would cost more for my triplets than I would
make. I understood this one quote on page 136 that says "Day care
costs for multiples can very easily exceed the rent or mortgage payment
and car payments combined!"
As all of us with multiples know, everyone wants to talk to you
when out in public. Most people are fascinated, or just genuinely
curious with multiples. I think we can all understand that, but sometimes
the questions get very personal. Sometimes we are in a rush with cranky
toddlers and don't have time for all the questions. One tip on page
120 is simple: "Our best advice is to keep on walking." I think most
of us with multiples, myself included, follow this advice on page
121: "The best strategy for coping with such comments is to smile
and let it go. Otherwise you could impede the sharing and the empathy
of parenting in general and potentially alienate other parents."
I would say that at times Raising
Multiple Birth Children seems geared towards triplets but I think
that parents of twins would certainly benefit from this book as well.
I personally got some great advice out of this guide and would recommend
it to other parents of multiples.
Book review by Sheryl Barlow
To Purchase:
• Raising Multiple Birth Children at Amazon.com
• Raising Multiple Birth Children at Amazon UK
• Raising Multiple Birth Children at Amazon Canada
