Do you have what it takes to raise a bilingual child?
Pretty bold statement, huh? But the reality is that many parents make the decision to not teach their child a second language because they don’t believe they’re capable of doing it or they feel don’t have the resources they need. It could be that they feel that:
- they are not fluent enough in the second language
- their partner or family doesn’t support them
- not enough people around them that speaks the second language
- they did speak to or exposed their child to the second language, but he only responds in English now
These are all valid arguments and I completely understand that every family is unique and there are so many circumstances that can lead to the decisions we make with our kids. So, this is not about passing judgement, but about encouragement and understanding that we’ve all been at that breaking point at some time.
Read: 5 Biggest Obstacles When Raising Bilingual Children
I doubt any of us can deny that to raise a truly bilingual child nowadays you must possess these 5 essentials:
1.Desire. This is a key trait in every parent raising a bilingual child. At least one of the parents must have a clear desire and want for their child to speak two or more languages. The motivation behind the desire can be any, such as a need to connect with the language of your family’s heritage or just to give them an advantage in many aspects of life. This desire will drive every other aspect of your bilingual journey plan.
2. Commitment. Once the desire is cemented, the next step is to make a firm commitment to yourself, your partner and your child to take the steps necessary to immerse him in the second language as much as possible in order to give him the necessary exposure. This commitment will become a way of life for your family. It’s better if it starts from the day the baby is born, or even before that, since research proves that for the bilingual brain to develop, the sooner the better.
3. Strategies. A clear map and plan-of-action guided by your desire and your commitment to raise your child bilingually is a must. You and your partner — as well as any immediate family that will be a key part of the child’s life — should choose a method that works for your home and decide to stick with it. Maybe this means that dad is the one that speaks Spanish to the child and mom speaks English because she’s not fluent, but you both make sure that any media exposure will be in Spanish and you will do everything possible to find other ways to expose her to the language. The scenarios vary, it’s up to you to commit to the strategies that work for you and be consistent.
4. Consistency. This is key. The child must know that any strategy you adopt is the way of the land. Children thrive on consistency in most aspects of their life, and bilingualism is no exception. Stick to the strategies you adopt, and if you’re the one speaking in the second language to her, make sure it’s always that way.
5. Resources/Community Support. Not everyone will have a village to help them raise a bilingual child, but it’s important to feel connected and have some access to asking questions, relating stories and finding resources. We hope to be some of that here and on Facebook, Twitter and SpanglishBaby Playground. You can also find or form local playgroups or find a bilingual preschool or school to place your child in to pretty much guarantee their bilingual upbringing.
So now, tell me, do you have what it takes to raise a bilingual child? You’re here. You’re reading this. I’ll say you totally do!
Two more points: 1) Creativity! It takes a lot of creativity to raise a bilingual child, so you have to have many ideas to do it. And 2) Fun: Without fun nothing will work, neither for the child nor for the parents.
Hang in there mama! I too wondered the same questions. My son is 4 now, we made the decision early bilingual was the only way. We figured spanish only since he would be exposed to english at school just like we were raised. When he has born Spanish felt natural since he could not talk and I didn’t get into deep conversations yet, but as he was getting older I felt I could not express myself as we’ll as I could in English, although I learned spanish first it became my second language as I went to school. The other is yes for sure it is hard, my hubby and I speak English to each other so he has heard it that way and I how we talk to peope so he picked up a lot of English that way. Last year he started preschool and at the time he spoke only Spanish and understood English, I was worried he wouldn’t be able to communicate with his teacher (potty etc.) to our surprise in a week or so he began English only! I guess he knew more than I thought his teacher said he would talk to her in English! Now he is a little resistance at times to speak Spanish but we make it a rule to speak spanish at home. I can tell you first hand it will get harder but so worth it, you just have to change the way you think. I would also feel rude speaking to him in Spanish with monolinguals around but I found that sometimes I just say we are teaching him Spanish and it makes me feel better not sure about them but I know there are lots of people who don’t understand it. Parenting is hard but Bilingual parenting is much harder but your giving your son 2 languages is priceless! Us bilingual mamas all feel overwhelmed keep up the good work your little Chicito is listening!! Mucha suerte!
Thanks for sharing this B.H.! Yes, it’s so priceless and really one of the only gifts we can give them that no one can take away!
Totally agree, Olga!
This is so timely for me. I feel like I DO use/have all these essentials in my efforts of raising my son bilingual, but many days I can’t help but think..”is this worth my effort?” I know these are just the days I feel discouraged. He is only 20 months, and he is learning, so that’s good. I was raised bilingually and although my Spanish is very good, it’s still my second language. Therefore,there are times when I just think “this would mean more/make more sense to me if I said it in English!” But, I keep plodding on. He has many words in Spanish, but I can’t help but think that other kids his age are stringing together more words (in English), and then I worry…is this my fault, am I confusing him? I am, however, worried about what will happen as he grows older, or possibly goes to preschool a couple of days next fall. I know his English will explode. Will it become even harder for me to stay in Spanish at home? I think I’m just tired today.
Nikki, your worries, fears and exhaustion are all very normal. I know for sure I’ve gone through the whole range of emotions and consider that my girl has been exposed only to Spanish at home since she was born. Yet, it’s been difficult and even now it’s not her language of choice because once she started an all-English preschool at 3.5 years she started to respond mostly in English.
Yet, I know that the foundation of Spanish and of bilingualism we laid down for her is what really matters and what makes it all worth it. She know goes to an immersion school and it I can see how that foundation is now starting to bloom.
Keep at it, find ways to make it fun for both of you and reach out to this community anytime. We’re here, on Facebook, Twitter and on SpanglishBabyPlayground.com!