As bilingual moms we have a big challenge right? On top of trying to raise good and smart kids, we need to raise our children bilingual. It is easier to say than done. It is super easy and no challenge if in your household both parents are monolingual. It becomes a challenge if one parent speaks one language and the other parent speaks another language. People always say to me: “You should speak to your boys in Spanish and your husband should speak to them in English.” I feel that it so hard because at the end of the day, the child from a very young age knows which language is the dominant one and will pick the one he/she thinks is mostly used. I am the kind of mom that doesn’t want to force their kids to learn. I rather want them to feel curious and learn because they like it. At the same time, I like to expose my children with many life experiences and to show them and read them lots of books. I read to my boys in English and Spanish. You see, when I learned English, no one forced me to learn it. I wanted to learn it and I felt the need to learn it. I had intrinsic motivation and that is what I want my boys to eventually have. I want them to have the same intrinsic motivation I had to learn a second or third language. With children, I feel that the more you push, the more they push back. As of now, I will continue to expose my boys to both languages through reading, travel and Mamá Maestra classes. The more they see mommy being proud using Spanish to teach and to communicate with others, their love for the language will grow and the intrinsic motivation will come. If there is a need, there is a want. If there is a want, there is a do.
Raising Bilingual Children
