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Hi, Chelsea! Congratulations on choosing to raise Isaiah bilingual – even when Spanish is not your native language! I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that must be…

We're so glad you've become a part of our growing community of parents raising bilingual children! As you've probably already noticed, we've been able to gather lots of useful info and tips in the year since we started this venture, but I think the best part is just having a place to go to be able to share not only our triumphs, but also our frustrations.

My suggestion to try to deal with what's happening with your son is to see if you can join a playgroup especifically for bilingual children. When we moved from Miami to Denver three years ago, I worried so much about not being surrounded by the huge Latino community we had back in Florida. I never imagined I would find a playgroup here. Almost a year after my daughter was born, I found one and now I don't know what I would do without it. In fact, we were recently at a meetup with some of the original members – including myself and my daughter – and I almost cried when I heard a group of kids – including mine – playing in Spanish. I guess the main point of having a playgroup is that it creates a kind of family outside the home setting for our children where they feel totally comfortable speaking the minority language. I suggest you read our post on playgroups which has lots of tips on how to start one if there are none around your area.

Good luck and please let us know how it goes!