Today, I’m writing about something that most of us don’t talk about: MONEY. Personal finances. Status.
Just typing the words makes me cringe because they are such taboo topics in this first world, competitive country. None of us likes to admit that we might be down on our luck, or that we can’t afford to keep up with the Joneses (or los López, as the case may be). This constant pressure is something we can get over when we’re talking about cars or jewelry, but when it comes to our children, we all want to have the means to give them every opportunity. What if lack of funds is a major barrier to raising a bilingual family?
I wouldn’t say this is the case with my family, since we are lucky that our children have exposure to lots of Spanish-speaking family members. However, it is a factor in our inability to send our children to camps, buy them quality bilingual books, and especially take trips to Latin America. By the time we pay for five flights, our vacation budget would be gone…that is, if we had a vacation budget.
To be honest, since my husband and I met and started raising our kids together, we have been dealing with the financial burdens of child support, debt from our respective divorces, and the everyday challenges that come with keeping up a house and cars. Even when we try to make cultural exposure or recreational activities a priority, it seems like we are the couple from the movie Up, constantly breaking open our savings jar because of some expensive emergency.
I’m sure lots of couples feel that way in this ongoing recession, but I never realized how much more depressing this (or, in many cases, true poverty) can be when you’re trying to show your kids that a second language is important. We don’t all have public dual immersion programs available, and we certainly can’t all afford tutoring or good bilingual movies and games. Sure, there are great children’s TV programs in Spanish, but what if (like us) you can’t even justify paying for cable? There are also lots of free apps out there, some of which we review at SpanglishBaby, but what if you don’t have a smartphone or an iPad? It can seem like there’s an expensive roadblock at every turn.
Aside from visiting the public library and reaching out to Spanish-speaking friends or family for in-home language support, what would you advise those who can’t set aside money to establish a bilingual life do to feel better about their children’s Spanish language exposure?
Regardless of the particulars of our financial circumstances, I think we could all use some creative ideas for stepping beyond the world of stuff and remembering that the true beauty of the second-language gift has little to do with purchasing ability. Share your tips in the comments so we can help each other to feel less inadequate and more inspired.
{Photo by slowdownfast.com}
My little girl has very limited Spanish exposure.
Unfortunately her Mexican relatives are not in contact with her. Of course her Spanish would need to improve in order to do so. I have to pay for a babysitter while I work anyways, so I found a great lady from Peru who only speaks Spanish to my four-year-old daughter all day. 
My little one now understands most phrases/commands in Spanish AND speaks in small phrases in Spanish. Yay! HOWEVER, she is still Not able to have a conversation in Spanish yet… Any advice??
Hi Mollie-
I’m in a similar situation. I have 2 little girls; 4 and 1. Most of my girls’ Mexican relatives live in Mexico or far away (we do see them but only once a yr). We’ve had a few wonderful babysitters from Mx since Bella was about 1 since my husband and I both work.
My advice (for what it’s worth) give it time. She’ll start to speak en espanol horita.
Are there other children who go there as well?
Hi Beth. Thanks for the advice. Yes, there is one little girl who goes there who is visiting from Peru, and Spanish is her first language; who is the same age as my daughter.
English is the first language for the other children that are there.
This is a subject matter near and dear to me.
My thoughts are that those of us who are on a more limited budget need to be more vigilant, proactive and aware of opportunities within the local community to expose our children to the language. Many, if not most community events are low (even free) cost and provide kids an excellent opportunity to witness the language and culture.
Many examples are:
Libraries
Parks and Recreational Centers
Museums
Cultural/Community Centers
Chamber of Commerce/City or County hosted events
Community radio stations (spanish programming)
And many, many more opportunities
You said “aside from the public library,” but please know that the public library can offer so much – videos in Spanish, books in Spanish, Spanish story times…All free. We’ve also been lucky enough to be in playgroups conducted in Spanish in Boston for free. We don’t have cable either. There are enough videos in Spanish (or that you can change the language to Spanish) free at the library. If there aren’t a lot of books in Spanish at your local library, they can usually use inter-library loan to get more. The library is definitely an underutilized resource.
You are right….libraries are great. However, for those who work full time, story time and frequent trips to the library may be impossible. It doesn’t offer quite enough to sustain bilingualism, in my opinion.
Jodi, I agree that seeking out these opportunities is all the more important when money is an issue. I have been quite disappointed by the cultural options in Orlando, though. Museums and children’s centers here are incredibly expensive, and we are usually left with street festivals (glorified parties) to expose our children to their culture. Our Spanish radio stations are fine, but not exactly kid-friendly.
We too are on a very limited budget, however I am fortunate to have access to public immersion schools.
If you have internet access, then I would suggest skype with your Spanish speaking relatives. I am not sure if you could do this at the library. It would be a great option for those with no internet access.
Also, I wonder if the private immersion schools put up shows/plays that are admission free. The local regular public schools in my area have some plays/musicals that are free and so a great free-entertainment for the kids.
Local playgroups are a good option if there are any in your area.
Thank you for broaching this topic Chelsea, such an important one
Chelsea, it is really great that you’re taking on this class divide. I’m a graduate student and have been for all of my son’s short life (he’s 3 1/2) and we use the ML@H method with him, so while our resources have always been stretched thin he has a very strong grasp of Spanish. Many dual language programs wish they could get more kids who are native Spanish speakers to balance their classrooms. That being said some of the expensive schools are willing to give scholarships to families who can’t afford the otherwise 1000-1500 a month in tuition, or at least we’ve found that to be the case. It can be quite humbling to ask for financial aid, but when it’s for your kid’s education you have to do whatever it takes to give them the best and most educators understand that and want to help.
That’s great to know about financial aid at private schools. I haven’t had much experience with that yet. I have been frustrated by the public school funding options in our state (like grants), since you have to qualify as “low-income” to apply and we are above that arbitrary income line but still not well off.
Our state is the same, though there are a very limited number of vouchers for families makes less than $3.500 a month. Also making 3,600 means that instead of paying 10% of your income on tuition you then have to pay more than 30%, just because that is what the schools generally cost. Anyway, we’ve had great luck with finding an excellent school where I bilingual son can attend, that has been willing to work with us to get his tuition cost down to a reasonable level. Best of luck! My motto in looking for schools now has become, you never know until you ask, so ask for goodness sake!
Money is an important issue when it comes to language learning, particularly for children who obviously can’t do it by themselves. Hiring a native speaking nanny is a great way to do this – essentially killing two birds with one stone. There is also the option of videos/books etc in the native language. Whilst this might not give your child an insight into the culture of the language they are learning, it is a relatively cheap way to ensure they enjoy learning. I like Al’s suggestion too, of Skyping with their Mexican relatives if at all possible; it’s free, they learn, and can keep in contact with family at the same time.
This is such an important topic. We live in (relatively) rural Wisconsin where there are very few options in terms of dual language programs. The libraries do their best on small budgets, but honestly the collections and programming cannot be considered a substantial source of language. It takes lots and lots of exposure – quality exposure to comprehensible input – to learn a language. I think that recognizing that reality is essential so that families do not feel that somehow they are not doing enough (don’t we all feel that way anyway?!) and can instead plan ahead to be able to provide true immersion experiences. Saving is difficult, but time spent with family or friends in Mexico, for example, is the way that children will really learn the language. I understand that the logistics of arranging time in another country can be daunting, and the cost might seem prohibitive, but I think these experiences should be part of a long-term plan for families who do not have access to the language in their communities. There has to be a realistic conversation about what is necessary to acquire complete language skills so that parents can make informed decisions and use the resources they have to the best advantage.
I work as a market vendor at a Farmer’s Market in Deland, FL near Daytona Beach. Money is tight here, and I would also like to find a way of selling new or used books, games etc., at prices the local hispanic community can afford, to promote bi-lingual literacy. The children here are fluent in two languages, but grow up reading English. Any ideas?
Jim
jbooker18@cfl.rr.com