🗣️ Raising a Bilingual Kid (And How I Encourage Them & Myself)

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I grew up as a bilingual child, so it was a no-brainer when I had kids that they would be bilingual too. Everyone around me said "Kids are like sponges, they'll just pick it up." I assumed it would be natural. I had this picture in my head of how it would go: We’d speak both languages consistently. My child would respond fluently. People would be very impressed by my bilingual and possibly even trilingual children! Oh! What adorable little geniuses!

In reality?

It looked more like me switching between languages mid-sentence, my child answering in English no matter what I said, and me wondering if any of it was actually working.

If you’re trying to raise a bilingual kid, you’ve probably had that same thought:

“Am I doing enough?”

It Doesn't Have to Be All or Nothing

One of the biggest misconceptions about raising bilingual kids is that you have to be perfectly consistent. That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself or your partner.

Some families use one language at home and another outside.
Some mix languages.
Some parents speak one language while the other parent speaks another (the famous one-parent-one-language method)

All of these take a lot of time and effort, but just try to remember this: Even if your child hears a second language part of the time, it still matters.

This is the part that can feel discouraging.

Kids Often Understand Before They Speak

You might be speaking to your child in another language… and they respond back in English. It can feel like it’s not working.

But many bilingual kids:

• understand the second language first
• take longer to respond in it
• go through phases of using one language more than the other

Understanding comes before speaking. Even if they’re not using the language yet, they’re still learning it.

My Practical Tips for Encouraging Bilingual Kids (And Encouraging/Motivating Parents)

1. Find a TV show they love in their weaker language: I'm guilty of having to pry my kid away from a show. And have you ever seen your kid memorize lines from their favorite show or YouTube video? Kids take in information best when they're interested in the context. My kid has recently gotten into a show called Teeniping and most of their content is in Korean, though it has English subtitles. This has helped her tremendously with her Korean vocabulary, and she definitely pays attention to it better than if I were going over vocab words with her.
2. Exposure through decor: There are beautiful vocab / alphabet posters now in practically any language. I like to put a couple of posters in my kid's room that will let her soak in language visually:
   
   - this Korean poster is so adorable & visually stunning
   - this group of Spanish vocabulary posters has both Spanish & English with clear, simple visuals
   - I also love this poster of common/everyday expressions in American Sign Language
3. Find a friend / family member / babysitter: Similar to my #1 tip of finding a TV show - kids sometimes learn best when it's not from you. Find a friend who is also going through the bilingual journey and arrange a monthly play date. Kids will often gravitate towards languages when they see that others use it too.
4. Include the second language in your tech: This seems a bit out-there, but I have my Siri set to speak Korean. I'm thinking about setting my Alexa to Spanish. Tech is literally everywhere in our house, so I might as well use it to its full capability!

To Conclude: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

At the end of the day, kids are going to take in language the way their brains are designed to.

Some will mix languages.
Some will understand long before they speak.
Some will go through phases where they lean into one language more than the other.

As parents, our job isn’t to create a perfect bilingual environment or follow a strict system every single day. It’s just to make sure they have access to the language in ways that fit their personality and how they learn.

I don’t worry about mixing languages or try to turn our home into a full-time language classroom. I just try to keep it present, natural, and interesting.

When it feels fun and low-pressure, kids are much more likely to lean into it on their own. And over time, that’s what really makes it stick. Good luck!