Daily Blog

Raising a bilingual child can undoubtedly be a lot of work, but it can also be extremely amusing. Just check out the conversation I had with Vanessa yesterday: — “Bueno conocerte,” she said as she shook my hand playfully. — “¿Qué que?” I asked her as I shook her hand back. — “Bueno conocerte,” she repeated emphatically. — “¿Qué significa eso?” I quizzed her. — “Nice to meet you,” she responded confidently, surprised that I would ask such a thing.Read More ...

Joining a Spanish speaking playgroup is a great support for raising bilingual children.  Soon after my first son was born, I joined my Spanish speaking playgroup, and through our participation, I have really seen the value in the Spanish development of both my sons.  More than anything else, the group has also been a lot of fun for all of us. The educational benefits to joining a playgroup were obvious for me.  Having a group of friends that know SpanishRead More ...

Editor’s note: This is Part 3 in a continuing series by Amy Conroy. To read the first two parts, go here. I would like to revisit one of the golden truths I’ve learned, Point C: our children are our best allies, our most gracious and charming ambassadors (when they’re not throwing berrinches or acting like super-ninjas in the local supermarket).  What I mean by this is that my experience right now would not be as rich without my children. TheRead More ...

“You are obsessed,” my husband tells me a couple of nights ago as I’m frantically (and futilely) looking for a Spanish-speaking (or bilingual) clown on the internet for Vanessa’s 5th birthday party this summer. He think it’s crazy I’m doing this because, in his view, who cares what language the clown speaks? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I respond. But then, I start to really think about it. Am I obsessed? Sure I am. I’ll be dammed ifRead More ...

Lately, I have taken frequent note of the hypocrisy surrounding Spanish speaking in America. While many monolingual (English-speaking) Americans feign support for Latino culture, they back up when it comes too close. The message I hear is: Go ahead and teach your kids Spanish, but speak English around me because I don’t want it to take over my world. This is why many parents enroll their children in Spanish classes or expose them to Spanish baby books but fall shortRead More ...

The story of my mom is not that of a single mom who sacrificed everything to make sure I had a better life. Or of an immigrant mom who came to this country not knowing a word of English and raised three successful professionals by working two jobs. Neither is it the story of a mom who slaved in the kitchen to ensure we had the most comforting home-cooked meals to cure all our ailments. No, the story of myRead More ...

There are so many wonderful reasons why I love being a mom to a bilingual and bicultural child. And beyond the long-term benefits that it will have for my son as he navigates through life, I keep coming back to a nostalgic feeling of keeping a connection between my son and my home country of Venezuela. I was born in Caracas and we moved to the Unites States in 1980 when I was just 6-years-old. According to my mother, IRead More ...

As someone who was raised by a single mother, Mother’s Day has an extra special significance to me.  Not only because we celebrated it twice in my home. Dominican’s Mother’s Day is on the last Sunday of the month. To me Mother’s Day signifies something bigger — the daily struggles, endurance, determination and influence of a woman who came to this country for a better life. My mother promised to make certain my brother and I had a better life than the one she had growingRead More ...