So we are doing our best to raise baby bilingual. We are using the "one parent, one language" method, where I speak English and SO speaks Spanish.
I worry though that since SO is not home during the day, that LO doesnt hear enough Spanish...so Ive been speaking what little I can. LO is two months old.
Do you have a bilingual baby?
What are your tips for success?
apricot / 444 posts
No tips of my own, but I'm due in May and we plan to do this with English (me) and Portuguese (SO) so I'm excited to hear what others have to say!
pomelo / 5228 posts
No tips either, but hoping we can do the same (English/Portuguese too!) I think I'll need to learn Portuguese though.
apricot / 444 posts
@Mrs.Someone: Awesome! My Portuguese is somewhere between nonexistant and terrible, but I've heard from a couple people that I'll pick up a lot from him speaking it to the baby, and from baby speaking back in basic ways (eventually). Is your SO from Brazil, or elsewhere?
pomelo / 5228 posts
@mjane: Yep, hes from Brazil. My hope is to go there and take an intensive course once we have a baby and its old enough to be left with relatives for a few hours. There seem to be several morning-only classes that last a week for each level. My ILs have been bugging me to learn for ever, but it just hasn't worked here. They even said to DH that our future kid will only ever know the word "avô" (grandfather/grandmother) 
pomelo / 5789 posts
@Mrs.Someone: being immersed is truly the best way to learn imho. I spoke zero spanish when i met my SO, but his family only speaks spanish at family events, plus we went to Peru twice and Mexico once.
pomelo / 5228 posts
@wheres_c: Yikes, the only-Spanish must be tough. I always feel left out when that happens, though I think part of it is because I know that almost everyone speaks English well.
nectarine / 2274 posts
My friend is Japanese, she left the Japanese TV station on all day long. She doesn't speak it, but really wanted her LO to learn it. Funny enough, her LO now speak and understand Japanese perfectly.
In our household, both DH and I speak both English and Chinese to our LO. Plus DH's parents speak Chinese only. So, LO will have no choice but to learn it. LO will also have to go to Chinese school once he's old enough.
pomelo / 5789 posts
@Mrs.Someone: well it was frustrating at first, knowing that they speak english.....but i looked at it as an opportunity to learn.
@mamabear57: thats a good idea about tv. I know theres controversy about baby einstein but i think someone gave us the spanish dvds...
bananas / 9357 posts
Im interested in this too. My DH speaks Mandarin and I really want DS to learn it too. So far my DH speaks Chinese to him a lot but not always. We also bought some books while we were in Taiwan. There is also a Chinese school that I hope to send DS to once he's old enough. I've heard it's good for the child to hear it from more than just one person. So having him around your SO's family would help.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
My biggest tip is really later on when they go to preschool etc when everyone is talking English around them. That's when my nieces and nephews only wanted to speak English. And now my niece is the only one that is very fluent in both.
The biggest difference is her parents kept speaking Chinese to her while my other brother & SIL gave in and spoke English to my nephews.. Now my nephews know barely a lick of Chinese and whenever my mom speaks to them they feign ignorance.
I'm trying really hard to remember to speak Cantonese to M but it's hard when my husband doesn't so it doesn't come out naturally.
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
@mamabear57: OMG!! I'm totally going to use that excuse with the hubby to watch TVB tv series at home once LO is here! It's for the baby's knowledge honey! hahahaha!
I speak a lot of khmer (Cambodian) to the hubby and have been trying to cut back and speak Chinese more to him because I want our LO to be fluent in both Chinese and Khmer. Not just Khmer!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
@regberadaisy: That's how my cousins are!! It's sad when we talk to them in Chinese and they misinterpret it for something not even remotely close because their Chinese is so poor now. While it's funny sometimes to hear how they heard it, but it's also sad.
bananas / 9357 posts
@regberadaisy: I think this is why hearing it from more than just one parent is important. Kids are smart and why learn a language they only hear from one person?
nectarine / 2274 posts
@Alivoo01: My mom have been on my case about leaving the TV on for my LO one too. Lol.
pomegranate / 3503 posts
I have a hard time doing the one parent, one language method since I don't speak to my husband in Chinese. Maybe you can find a play group in your area that are geared towards learning Spanish? There are also Spanish story times in our local library. That might be helpful too.
grapefruit / 4120 posts
I am no expert but am raising a bilingual toddler and a future bilingual infant 
Our pediatrician told us each parent needs to speak their own language to the child to avoid confusion. (Your method.) I have also heard this elsewhere. That is how you're really going to get the fluency and the nuances of the language, and avoid teaching bad language habits. Mixing makes things harder in the long run, I think. The pedi also told us our kids would mix the language until around age 3 and then would "get" the difference more. Our son speaks Spanglish but he does know mama uses certain words and papa uses others.
grape / 92 posts
I really want to try this but I'm not sure my Mandarin is good enough--it's conversational really. I'm going to try making my Chinese side of the family speak only in Mandarin to LO though.
When should you start speaking in another language to LO? Straight from birth?
pomelo / 5789 posts
@mrskc: Oh oh That means even more time around the inlaws 
@regberadaisy: My nieces/nephews are like that too for the exact same reason. It's so sad. Only one of them is truly bilingual despite the fact they come from spanish speaking parents. because of this, I need to pay close attention.
@BoogieBea: Theres a spanish story time here too. LO is only 2 months, so we havent been yet but I plan on taking him. Once he's a little older I will look into the playgroups.
@sloaneandpuffy: Thats why I wonder if its a bad idea for me to sing spanish songs with him and read him spanish stories. But I'm the only one around to do that.
@vnvdvci: "Experts" debate this. Straight from birth may cause some speech delays, but they will ultimately be better speakers this way. We started straight from birth
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