Raising a bilingual or multilingual child is an incredibly rewarding experience. You get to see your child flit between different languages, different cultures, and different worlds. The benefits of knowing more than one language are innumerable. However, helping your child learn multiple languages isn’t an easy task. There will be a few hiccups along the way. Below are a few things to avoid when it comes to raising a multilingual baby.
1) Correcting Too Much
It’s really tempting to guide your child in the right direction by correcting each and every mistake he or she might make. However, this could be detrimental to your child’s confidence and could make him or her reluctant to speak. Your child will learn the correct way to speak in time so be encouraging and definitely do not mock or laugh at your child. You may think that you are laughing with your child at some silly mistakes but your child may take it to heart.
2) Being Inflexible
Every parent has a plan and setting goals is a great start! Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always get with the program. You have to learn to be flexible. Life has a way of throwing surprises at you and each twist and turn can affect the timeline that you had in mind. If your plan is too rigid and refuses to budge to accommodate your child’s pace and whatever life may throw at you, your child may feel burdened and will lose the enthusiasm for learning another language. Also, don’t allow a small change in the plan to make you lose heart and give up
completely. Make adjustments to the plan so it works best for your child.
3) Making Everything Into a Test
Pop quizzes make everyone sweat. By making everything into a language pop quiz, you might make your child nervous instead of excited to learn. By feeling constantly tested, he or she might consider learning another language as a chore. Instead of testing your child, find more fun ways to immerse him or her in the language. If you’re not a native speaker of the language, find some (Smart Coos makes that incredibly easy!) and have them talk with your little one! Use books, music, movies, and toys to make learning languages fun for your child!
4) Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
Being a parent is hard work and sometimes it’s a great idea to ask your friends and family for guidance. However, don’t forget to trust your own instincts and don’t swerve too far away from your goals based on what other people say. You know what resources and what pace is best for your child. Don’t pay any attention to the naysayers who may not understand the multiple benefits of being multilingual!
The road to being fluent in multiple languages takes many twists and turns, goes uphill, and, on occasion, will seem to be going downhill. Don’t become disheartened and definitely do not give up! Be patient, be understanding, be consistent! You should be proud of your multilingual baby and don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for your own hard work and dedication!
Contributed to by Aarushi Sharma