One-on-One Is Challenging with Two

True confession: Sometimes I have a twinge of parent guilt because I don’t spend a lot of one-on-one time with my twins.

I’m lucky if I have an hour a week of “just you” time with each of my children. Some experts say that spending one-on-one time with twins will foster a sense of true identity (for the kid, not me) and insure that they know that they “matter.” Some say this is vital, and some even suggest putting a child in day care in order to spend one-on-one time with the other child.
 Really?

As a home school mom I usually spend all day with my kids. I’m full-on, hands-on at least 12 hours a day.  And it seems that even though I don’t get much one-on-one time, they don’t seem to be suffering or are less individualistic. In fact, they couldn’t be more different.
 My boy is sweet and cautious, a problem-solver that loves puzzles and Legos.  My girl is bold. She is full of sparkly, good energy.  They’re happy and well-adjusted.

Parents (me included) need to and shouldn’t beat themselves up if one-on-one time is limited.  Sure, we should strive to carve out special time for each of our children but what really matters is the time that’s spent.  Make it quality time that’s spent learning and sharing and exploring, and that encourages individualism but also fosters a strong familial bond.