Constant comparison gives twins anxiety

TWINS are being driven to anxiety and depression because parents and teachers are always comparing them to their sibling, a mental health charity has said.

All children can experience anxiety when measured against the abilities of their peers, but the problem is more acute in triplets and twins because they are always “intrinsically compared” to one another.

Young Minds, the mental health charity, has warned that lumping together siblings with similar features is more likely to lead to mental health problems later in life.

Emma Saddleton, the charity’s helpline manager, told The Daily Telegraph that twins and triplets displayed higher levels of stress and anxiety in the run-up to exam results, because they are compared “to the ninth degree” to their siblings.

She added that because Britain has a lower proportion of twins compared with other European countries, there is a lack of awareness about the mental health issues they face.

“If you are just one child you’ll be trying to meet your own expectations, and your parents’, and the school’s,” she said.

“But if you are a twin or a triplet, then there is this real fear that you are going to be intrinsically compared to your twin brother, twin sister, or triplet.”