Quintuplets Leave the Nest

Empty-nest syndrome hit Dan and Pam Pisner harder than most parents who send their children off to college. All five of their children - quintuplets who made headlines when they were born in 1983 - left for college last fall.

ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters first got to know the Pisner children - Devin, Ian, Shira, Michael and Elliot - when they were 14 months old. She revisited the quintuplets last year, as they prepared to leave their home in Olney, Md. and head off to college.

A Natural, But Difficult, Change

上大学

五胞胎离爱巢

    与大多数把孩子送进大学的父母相比，空巢综合症对Dan和Pam Pisner的打击更大，去年秋天他们的五胞胎孩子一起离家上了大学。1983年五胞胎出生时曾引起媒体的轰动。

    美国广播公司新闻记者Barbara Walters首次见到Pisner家的五胞胎Devin、Ian、Shira、Michael和Elliot时，他们才14个月大。去年她再次采访五胞胎时，他们正准备离开在马里兰州Olney的家，动身去上大学呢。

艰难的必由之变

"It's just so hard to believe that 18 years have gone by so quickly," said Pam, a government worker who was 29 years old when she gave birth to the quintuplets after fertility treatments. "I am going to be crying my eyes out. They are going to leave this house as quickly as they entered - all at once."

For Dan, a computer network consultant who works from home, it's a difficult transition as well. "I thought we got to keep them forever," he said. But, he has realized, "You don't get to keep them forever and this is natural."

Four of the Pisners are at the University of Maryland, about 15 miles away. Elliot left the pack to attend Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md., which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive.

   Pam说："真是难以置信，18年弹指一挥间。"Pam是公务员，29岁那年她在人工助孕后生下了五胞胎。她说："我会伤心得哭成泪人的。当初他们一起突然降临，如今他们又要一起匆匆离去。"

   Dan是一位在家办公的计算机网络顾问，对他来说，要适应这个变化也很困难。他说："我总以为5个孩子会永远依偎在我们身旁。"但是，他已认识到"长大的孩子不中留，这是自然规律。"

   5胞胎中有4人就读离家大约15英里的马里兰大学。Elliot独自就读于地处马里兰州Salisburg的Salisburg大学，从家中开车到学校大约要两个半小时。

   "他们学校我只喜欢校园而已，"Elliot说，他打算主修管理信息系统专业。谈及同胞的4个孩子时，他笑着说："也许我会想念他们的。"

Devin, who was the first-born by 30 seconds, might be described as the troublemaker. Michael, who plays the keyboard and paints is known as the artistic one, while Elliot is labeled the smartest. Shira is the most outgoing sibling, and Ian is known for having the most common sense. The hardest part about being a quintuplet, they say, is finding privacy.

On the flip side, they also thrive in the midst of the constant tumult in the home they call "Camp Pisner."

"There's always somebody going through the same thing at the same time," says Ian.

    先30秒出生的老大Devin可以说是一个调皮蛋；Michael颇有艺术家之风，擅长电子琴和绘画；Elliot最聪明；Shira性格最开朗；Ian最广闻博识。他们说，作为5胞胎，最大的苦恼就是找到私人空间。

   从另一个角度看，他们也正是在这热热闹闹的家中茁壮成长起来的。孩子们把家称作"Pisner营地"。

Ian说："家里总有人在同时经历同样的事。"

"And you always have somebody to talk to," adds Shira. "It's like a friend because they're the same age and you are going through the same problems."

Advice From the Quints

With fertility treatments and multiple births becoming more common, the Pisner kids offered some advice for raising children from multiple births.

"Don't dress your kids alike," suggested Michael.

"Take it one step at a time," said Ian, knowing that his parents did just that. "Don't get too far ahead."

Shira, the only girl in the bunch, said, "Make sure you treat them as individuals."

And Elliot added: "When it comes to school, don't put them all in the same class." ABCNEWS

   Shira补充说："你总是能找到人说话，彼此就像朋友，因为都是同龄人，遇到的问题也一样。"

五胞胎的忠告

   随着人工生育技术的普及，多胞胎越来越多，Pisner家的五胞胎对抚养多胞胎提出了忠告。

  Michael的建议是"别让孩子们穿戴都一样。"

   Lan说："一步一步慢慢来，不要操之过急。"他们的父母就是这样做的。

Shira是五胞胎中唯一的女孩，她劝告道："一定要把他们当作是个性不同的孩子来对待。"

   Elliot补充说："上学时别把他们都安排在同一个班里学习。" 美国广播公司新闻