A couple of days ago, I was interviewed by KPCC, the NPR station in Southern California, on the topic of raising bilingual children. One of the questions I was asked was regarding the mistakes parents make when trying to raise children with more than one language. While I don't like to use the word mistakes because I feel like parenting is already hard enough without the added pressures of teaching your kids two languages, the truth is there are some things you should avoid if you'd like to be successful in raising them bilingual.
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Don't listen to others. You'll always find people, including professionals, who'll try to tell you that raising bilingual children is a bad idea. Sadly, the myths still abound and lots of uninformed people will try to convince you not to do it. So do your own research and you'll see that there's nothing to fear and that, in fact, you're gifting your child with a wonderful ability that will only benefit him.
Don't rely solely on technology. Using apps, movies, music and software programs are great when raising bilingual children, but only if you use them as compliments. In other words, don't expect your daughter to become bilingual just because you sit her in front of the TV to watch Dora the Explorer an hour a day. Children need to be exposed to the language as much as possible and the best way to do this is to speak to them as much as possible.
Don't give up. And don't give in. Even if it seems like you're losing the battle, try to keep at it. Your kids have to see how important this is to you and if you give up, you're showing them the opposite. Just try to remember that in the long run, all your hard work will pay off. I promise.
Don't think it's ever too late to get started. If you've been thinking about doing it, but have wondered if you've missed your window of opportunity, you're wrong. While starting early is easier for all those involved, late is better than never.
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