Lead
Born on the same day. Sleeping in the same room. Eating at the same table. The challenge of seeing each child as an individual arrives with multiples from the very first day.
"Overwhelming" is not a subjective impression. Raising twins or triplets carries structural demands that differ qualitatively from raising one child at a time. Feeding schedules, sleep routines, developmental tracking — everything doubles or triples, and inside that multiplication, the question "who is this particular child?" can be genuinely hard to sustain.
This article reviews what research shows about multiples: the global trends in multiple births, the developmental characteristics of twins and triplets (especially in language), and the mental health of parents. It then considers how daily record-keeping can serve as a concrete tool for maintaining each child's individuality.