Parent to Parent
What have been the biggest challenges or issues of raising a bilingual child?
How did you resolve the issue?First was deciding on a rule that would determine when I would speak Portuguese with them. When I couldn't come up with a workable rule, I decided that I would only speak Portuguese with them. Every once in a while they will say something in English to me, but I
simply ask them "What?" ("Como?") and they repeat in Portuguese. My advice: don't give up. Very young children can handle two languages.
— Father of bilingual 2 1/2-year old twins (Portuguese)One issue is what to do when you're around other people who don't speak French. I know some people are uncomfortable with speaking a language to their child that others around them can't understand because they might feel it's rude. I decided early on that my son's language acquisition was more important than what others thought, so I generally speak French to him even around others. I will sometimes repeat what I've said in English if I think it's important they understand. For example, if I'm disciplining him in front of another child from whom he took a toy, and I want the child to understand, I will say it first to my son in French and then repeat it again in English.
— Mother of bilingual 4 1/2-year old (French)Pretending not to understand English at the beginning, so that she took the habit of addressing me in French (vs. English with the nanny she was with all day). We failed at teaching Arabic [3rd language] to our first child and did not try with our second. We already had French as the common language at home and English outside the home. Too much hassle to add a 3rd language.
— Mother of bilingual 5-year old and 2-year old (French)So far, the one great challenge has been in fulfilling my desire for my children to speak to me in French. They understand everything I say, but usually respond in English. About once a day, while they are playing with one another, my oldest daughter will speak to her little sister in French for about 10 minutes, without any prompting on my part. The little one will sometimes follow suit. Occasionally, they will speak to me in French. I used to try to motivate my oldest daughter to speak to me in French, but then decided to just let her decide what she wanted to speak. I am afraid of doing anything that might turn her against the language.
— Mother of bilingual 4-year old and 2 1/2-year old (French)