Twins are very social very early. It is not surprising since they
are together most of the time. They appear to move along the social
developmental time line quickly while testing everything including
sharing, engaging with each other in play, and even politeness and
manners.

Since children learn through modeling and fun, I think the twins
have the ideal laboratory with a constant observer to test what
works and what mom and dad suggest is the best way to act. It is
amazing what a "please", "thank you" and "may I please have" can
deliver. 
 
We have a fun technique in our house that has worked wonders. We
have about a dozen little folded cards that sit on the table where
meals are served. They are simple little paper tents that have
words written on them. Some of the words are:
 
Please
Thank You
May I Please Have
Yes Please
No Thank You
 
When the opportunity presents itself, during a meal, we slide the
cards out and ask what they say. Even as the kids were first
learning to recognize letters they could identify the words and
phrases and gained an understanding about how and when to use them.
One twin encouraged the other to learn and remember. This is not to
say that it works all the time but gradually they got the idea. We
got table manners, word play and some fun all in one exercise.
Since the table faces the refrigerator in our home the games have
extended to plastic magnetic letters on the front door. It is a
delight to work out the spelling of a word while the vegetables are
being devoured.
 
We have the words on white paper but it could easily be on colored
stock to add to the memorability. I have heard too that for some
the meal ordeal can be stressful. This little game smooths that out
considerably. We hope it does for you too.
 
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