Parent to Parent

What have been the biggest challenges or issues of raising a bilingual child?
How did you resolve the issue?

Not enough French since I am the only one speaking French to her. No languages taught in her kindergarten either. Since we have not been back to France for almost 2 years, her French has been going down. [I would advise other parents to] go to a French-speaking country every year. [There needs to be] more information/education for American teachers.  They know little about bilingual children. Her kindergarten teachers sort of imply that I should stop speaking French to her because she is having difficulty processing. They don't seem to understand how important it is to me and to her. 
— Mother of bilingual 5-year old (French)

Finding a good balance between the two languages. Still working on it . . .
— Mother of bilingual 4-year old and 1 1/2-year old (French)

It was fairly smooth. Incredibly he was absorbing English as he was growing. By age 3 he would answer us in French and would answer English-speaking people in English. If I were having a conversation with a friend he would speak to me in French and my friend in English. He did have a French accent and translated some expressions, so his English was recognizably foreign. A child's natural desire to conform presented the only main issue. Once he went to school he did not want to speak French in front of his friends. He changed to English. Not really an issue but normal language development challenges you to decide which language will be dominant. Since I am a language instructor, training had taught me that one must learn a language quite early in order to absorb it as a native speaker. The TH sound in English is one of the most difficult sounds in any language to master. He had to absorb that sound early so that he would not have an accent. Therefore we decided to speak English to him when he went to grade school.
— Mother of bilingual adult child (French)

Mixing up languages when I spoke. Limited vocabulary in the second language for lack of use.
— Adult raised in bilingual home (Spanish)

Consistency. It is difficult to focus on speaking another language while immersed in the English-speaking environment. Current (early language stage) focus is on familiarizing him with the sound of German. Later, he will spend time in Germany to immerse himself in the language environment.
— Father of bilingual 20-month old (German)

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