Last week I picked up Enzo at daycare and he ran to me with arms open wide. “Mommy!” he said. I said no, “Yo soy mama, abuela es mami.”
He started to giggle and pointed his finger at me, “no tú mommy.”
Only four months into daycare and Enzo’s English is flourishing. At home, sometimes we hear him playing by himself and he is playing en inglés! His Papa swears English has already become his first language.
Enzo hears his other friends call their parents ”mommy” and “daddy” at daycare and, in the past, I think he thought that was what they were called (i.e. their names!) But now, he understand what mommy and daddy mean. When I arrive I hear him say to his teacher, “my mommy is here.”
I try to picture what our language situation will be as Enzo gets older. Will “quiero agua” be replaced by “I want water” and will he stop saying “te amo” to say “I love you?” (Which, by the way, I do—even if I am speaking to my parents in Spanish, I will end the conversation with “love you bye.”)
I do understand that this is undoubtedly a normal progression, as we live in the United States.
The thing is, I happen to love being called “mama.” (Not mamá because he says it like that -mama, no accent!) I think it’s sweet.
I hear friends around me speaking in English and still refer to their parents as “Mami” and “Papi” so I’m hopeful that even when he’s older and English is the dominant language, my little boy will always call me mama.
Do you have a word or phrase that you wish your little one will never stop saying en español?
{Photo by GabrielaP93}
Yes! We get the same thing from our 2 yr old. A few months ago he started calling me “mom” and I corrected him that I am “Mamá.” He already understands that everything has two names(englis and spanish) so he tried that out and got over it quickly. Now he has started calling my hubby “papa” instead of “Papá” Its not like he is calling him daddy but “papa.” I am pretty sure its because he is being exposed to English and for whatever reason is saying it without the accent but we are working on correcting it. We only speak Spanish at home and to each other but it is definitely harder than I thought with all of the outside influences. I hope we will always be “Mamá y Papá” even though we live in the US .
I wouldn’t worry too much. Our son calls me mama, but flips between papi and daddy when visiting friends who don’t speak Spanish. As soon as we get in the car and are headed home my husband is papi all over again. I think it is just the desire to be like his friends when thy are present, but when you get home you can be comfortable in your own skin, customs, etc.
Yes, same here. 2 kids born and raised in English & Spanish, they switch constantly, but in private is always: ” mami te quiero mucho”. Most of our conversations are in Spanish. I think the key is not to force them and make it fun!
I grew up calling my dad (American) “Daddy” and my mom (Mexican) “Mommy”, but once I started embracing my Latina-ness
I changed the spelling and pronunciation to Mami, which is not so different. My 2yo who attends daycare also started saying “mommy” – I want to be “mamá”/”mami” and I told her that. I have never called my parents “Dad” or “Mom”, the more childish name stuck with me. I suggest we reinforce the names we want to be called, as a name, which might contrast with our “title”.
Charlie is 3 and a half and he swaps fluidly between languages all the time. Our situation is a bit different, as we live in Buenos Aires and English is our “minority” language. But I find that he addresses me as Mommy or Máma, depending on what language he is speaking to me in. We attempt to do one parent, one language, but that is complicated by the fact that my husband and I address one another only in Spanish (unless I am really very upset or ticked off and then it´s good ole American English all the way). I think perhaps as some of the children mentioned grow older and more secure in their dual language abilities, their moms will find that the title that is most often used in situations of comfort or affection is chosen, though that might depend a lot on the kid too. And I liked Diane´s comment about asserting the title you would like to be called, kids should know their parents have preferences too and that the world (shockingly) does not ALWAYS revolve around them.
haha! I love that! Yes the world shouldn’t revolve around them!!
Like you, I always revert to English when I get upset. I say “STOOOOP IT” (I actually hiss it, haha)