When one of my daughter’s first words was D-d-d-dora I knew there was something special about this character. As a new mamá, I am watching children’s programs for the first time, getting to know what they are about and trying to figure out which are best for my daughter, Little L. Although she just turned 1, I do rely on some TV to help me with raising her bilingual. Little L’s exposure to Spanish is limited, and as I amRead More ...
How Food at My Daughter’s Birthday Party Told Our Bilingual & Bicultural Story
Introducing the SpanglishBaby Gift Guide
Can you believe Christmas is less than three weeks away? I can’t — especially because I haven’t done ANY shopping at all. ¡Auxilio! If you’re anything like me, then you’ll like what I’m about to tell you… For a couple of years now, we’ve been wanting to put together a gift guide and I’m happy to announce we’ve finally done it! The thing with our Ultimate Gift Guide for Bilingual Kids is that it’s really not only to get gift givingRead More ...
Memories Of My Bilingual Childhood
Before the age of 5, I had never spoken or heard anything but Spanish. My father was transferred within the Chilean Navy to Washington, D.C. just before my fifth birthday. It was supposed to be for two years and it ended up being five before we stepped back on Chilean soil. During that time, I began school and of course had to learn English. My father lived in a Spanish-speaking world due to the nature of his work, and myRead More ...
Watching in Awe As My Son Becomes Bilingual
The bell rings and Santiago runs to get the door shrieking with excitement. He’s been waiting all afternoon for friends of ours to come over for dinner so he can play with their 7-year-old son. “Hi, Liam!” he says and hugs him as soon as I open the door. “Hi, Santiago!” Liam responds and off they run to play with Vanessa who’s in the playroom in the basement. A bit later, they all come up to the kitchen where I’mRead More ...
Becoming Bilingual in an English Dominant Country
One of the things that really throw people off when they try to speak to Sabrina (my Spanish dominant toddler) is the fact that she really doesn’t understand English. In fact, I have to remind friends and family that she speaks and understand more Spanish than she does English. We have done a pretty good job of speaking to her 100% of the time in Spanish. Sure, Spanish and English flow back and forth between my husband and I (andRead More ...