RICHARD IRVINE

DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR A FIRST TIME DAD OF TWINS

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Where does “normal” start and stop when it comes to children and their quirky behaviour?

And why should we care whether it’s normal, abnormal, or requires immediate intervention?

Allow me to address and inevitably fail to provide an adequate answer to these questions. The easiest one to tackle is why we should care, and for me there's a comfort in “run of the mill”.

Victoria likes to ask: “Is this normal or should I be worried?” This is simply to reassure herself, and I know the answer is always to say every child behaves in the same way to avoid further queries.

That's not to say I don't think the same thing on a far too regular basis.

For example, the twins studied the Great Fire of London last year at school and were fascinated.