Parent to Parent: Twins

WSVN -- Five-year-old fraternal twins Annie and Lucy may have the same birthday, but they don't have everything in common.

Lori Jimenez: "Annie is a sports fan, wants to wear her Patriots shirt all the time, and Lucy loves to color and pays attention to detail and likes little things. They're definitely different."

Parenting experts say it's important to encourage twins to have their own identities.

Maureen O'Brien: "Always use their names, don't call them 'the twins.' I think dressing them alike is kind of a slippery slope because then you're encouraging people to treat them that way, and it sort of points them out."

Parents should also try to spend one-on-one time with each twin.

Maureen O'Brien: "Instead of, 'Let's look at the report cards at the same time or let's look at your homework at the same time,' the more you can, if you're a two-parent family, divide and conquer the better."

Lori Jimenez: "We definitely do try to spend individual time, whether it's on the weekends taking one kid to the supermarket instead of another, or instead of all of them."

And when it's time to start school, it's often easier if the twins are in the same classes at first, but, ultimately, it's good for them to be on their own.

Lynn Martinez: "Experts say they can compare notes and talk about who they sat next to on the bus. Parents of twins will notice that their world gets bigger the moment they're separated."