Experiments prove girls are sugar and spice

DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR A FIRST-TIME DAD OF TWINS

TWIN studies are viewed as an excellent method to examine environmental influences on behaviour.

Both children are raised at the same time in the same conditions with the same people so it’s easier to see if they’re a nightmare because of you or if they’re born that way.

Obviously, Thomas and Emma are not genetically identical, the main difference being one’s a boy and one’s a girl, but it makes them perfect fodder for a study of gender stereotypes. Firstly, I can honestly say there is no gender bias regarding care, clothing or play.

In fact, for the first six months, I got them muddled up, often mistaking Thomas for Emma and vice versa.

Secondly, clothes and toys are very much shared as they’re usually in a pile in the corner of the room.

So, are the twins fulfilling gender stereotypes?

In terms of play, Thomas ticks all the right boy boxes by throwing a ball then scuttling after it across the floor.

His repertoire now involves two balls and to be frank, he’s a lot better at it than I am.

A limitation of this observation is I do occasionally throw the ball for him in the hope he’ll be a highly paid footballer one day, but one of the nice ones, like Gareth Southgate.

On the other hand, Emma just chases him, which may suggest a career as a defender.

Thomas also jumps around the home with little or no concept of danger.

If he wants something, he’ll balance precariously on an object then just launch himself in that general direction. Emma is not a risk taker, but she will watch him and laugh.