parents and children

twin

twin [twin twins twinned twinning] noun, verb, adjective   [twɪn]    [twɪn] 

noun
1. one of two children born at the same time to the same mother
• She's expecting twins.

see also  conjoined twin, fraternal twin, identical twin, Siamese twin

2. one of two similar things that make a pair
• The plate was one of a pair but I broke its twin.  
Word Origin:
late Old English twinn ‘double’, from twi- ‘two’; related to Old Norse tvinnr. Current verb senses date from late Middle English.  
Collocations:
Children
Having a baby/child
want a baby/a child/kids
start a family
conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child
miss your period
become/get/ be/find out that you are pregnant
have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family
have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth
be in/go into/induce labour (especially US) labor
have/suffer/cause a miscarriage
give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twins
Parenting
bring up/ (especially NAmE) raise a child/family
care for/ (especially BrE) look after a baby/child/kid
change (BrE) a nappy/(NAmE) a diaper/a baby
feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby
be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave
go back/return to work after maternity leave
need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare
balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life
educate/teach/home-school a child/kid
punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid
adopt a baby/child/kid
offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption
(especially BrE) foster a child/kid
be placed with/be raised by foster parents 
Example Bank:
• His long-lost twin was searching for him.
• I was the older twin.
• My sister had twins.
• She had twin girls.
• The twins were separated at birth.
• a pair of identical twins
• adult twins who were raised apart
• an operation to separate conjoined twins

• the plot device of giving a character an evil twin

parent

par·ent [parent parents parented parenting]   [ˈpeərənt]    [ˈperənt]  noun
1. usually plural a person's father or mother
• He's still living with his parents.
• her adoptive parents
• Sue and Ben have recently become parents.
• It can be difficult to be a good parent.

see also  one-parent family, single parent, step-parent

2. an animal or a plant which produces other animals or plants

• the parent bird/tree

3. (often used as an adjective) an organization that produces and owns or controls smaller organizations of the same type
• a parent bank and its subsidiaries
• the parent company  
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin parent- ‘bringing forth’, from the verb parere. The verb dates from the mid 17th cent.  
Thesaurus:
parent noun C, usually pl.
• He's forty but still living with his parents.
mother • • father • • step-parent/stepmother/stepfather • • guardian • |informal, especially spoken dad • • daddy • |BrE, informal, especially spoken mum • • mummy • |AmE, informal, especially spoken mom • • mommy • • folks •
a good/bad/caring/loving/doting/devoted/proud parent/mother/father/dad/mum/mom
a stern/strict parent/mother/father/step-parent/guardian
become a/sb's parent/mother/father/step-parent/guardian/dad/mum/mom 
Example Bank:
• The study showed that children with involved parents do better at school.
• The subsidiary eventually outgrew its parent company and took it over.
• They have just become the proud parents of a baby girl.
• single-parent families
• the identities of the adoptive parents
• He's still living with his parents.

• We are looking for volunteers to act as foster parents.