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Hi Marisa,

We´r so happy you found us and that the stories on this site have motivated you to share yours.

I  must say I really do admire the effort that you´re putting in to gift your daughter with a second language.  It will not be an easy process, for sure, but she will one day thank you for this.

The best advice is to follow your instincts.  Incorporate english into activities that feel natural to you. View it as something special between the two of you–you´re both gaining lots from it. She can feel that that´s  the special language mom uses only for her.

Plus, if you have the option of her attending bilingual education, you can probably switch back to Spanish once she´s in school.

These are just my thoughts from what I´ve learned the last year through SpanglishBaby, but I´m not an expert.

You are more than welcome to submit this as a question to our expert: http://www.spanglishbaby.com/a…..an-expert/

Any one else on this forum going through something similar and can share your experience? That´s what the forum is all about

Marisajc,

I think we are just the opposite, but yet just the same! I feel similar to you when I speak to my son in Spanish because that is my second language learned later in life and nobody in my family speaks it. I do not know many little songs or special things to say for children in Spanish. In fact I started out talking to my baby all in English, my mother tongue. My husband and that whole side of the family have even learned more English from hearing me speak it to the baby. But my son is almost 2 years old now and recently I have been trying to talk to him in Spanish more. That is the Minority language where we live, and I have been reading how important it is to reinforce the Minority language as much as we can, so I'm trying. It felt weird at first but has gotten somewhat easier. The experts say hearing natural language is important, so when it feels really forced to me (it's amazing how many words I really do know but just can't think of at the moment when we're "reading" picture books), I just try to look it up for future, and keep improving. I still sing all my bedtime lullabies to him in my native language and there really are some days I just want to speak to him in the same words of my own mother, and that's ok. That is his heritage too and that's how I feel comfortable. 

For now, my son functions equally well in both languages. As he gets older and goes to school in the Majority language (English where we live) I worry it could take over in his mind. I don't see myself ever wanting to talk to him 100% in Spanish so we will have to try other things for him to know I think it is valuable and important. What I do know from parenting in general (my elder daughter is 18 years old) is that no matter what I do, it will only work for a little while, and then I will be back to researching and trying to get ideas! It is always a work in progress!!!

Also, even though you work outside the home (I do too), you may not be there all day long, but you are still Mama!!! What you do is special.  

Keep persevering and keep trying! Don't despair if you can't do everything "perfect". The more you can do, the more it will be a very wonderful gift for your daughter!

Hola Marisajc, I'm so glad to hear it's going well for you! Keep that positive spirit! You and your husband will be very glad you've made this special gift for your little Violeta.

I am finding the more I try it, the more natural it feels to speak to my son in Spanish, even in the middle of the night, or around strangers. Like you said, I have to relax and try not to be too shy. Easier said than done, but it's getting better as I do it.  

(And we love Pocoyo at our house too!)

Thank you for sharing your link, Hispanigentsia!

It's really wonderful to hear your story, especially as a bilingual baby all grown up!

I learned Spanish as an adult but have also found that my Spanish improves in direct proportion to how much I get my gumption up to open my mouth and USE it!