Nov
28
Raising Bilingual Kids: Desafíos y alegrías
Today’s installment about raising bilingual children is about Penélope (Penny) Lara, a Seattle healthcare educator and mother of two teenagers. Penny knows the highs and lows of raising a bilingual child because she has been through it all. When her daughters Isabella and Atenas were babies, exposing them to Spanish was both easy and practical since Penny’s mother and sister, both native Spanish speakers, helped out with babysitting.
But when Isabella and Atenas started to grow up and become more aware of the English-speaking world that surrounded them, they started to rebel in their own way. Speaking Spanish wasn’t something they wanted to do, even though Spanish was the first language they were exposed to. But Penny eventually overcame this obstacle by hanging in there, being consistent and teaching her daughters to have pride in their Mexican heritage.
“Lo mas gratificante es ver crecer a mis hijas, siendo unas ciudadanas responsables y muy orgullosas de ser de origen latino. Cuando mi hija Atenas estaba en segundo grado, llegó a casa y me platicó que tenia una amiguita que era un cuarto inglesa, un cuarto francesa, un cuarto canadiense y un cuarto americana, y me pregunta, ‘Mamá y ¿nosotros somos un cuarto de cada qué?’
Mi respuesta fue de que nosotros eramos un 100% mexicanas, y eso le dio mucho gusto, me imagino que porque no tenia que explicar sus origenes con fracciones como su amiguita! Pero ahora ella lo repite con mucho orgullo.”
Penny’s advice to parents who want to raise bilingual children? Be consistent. Make sure the children have plenty of contact with relatives, like grandparents, aunts and uncles, who speak the second language. Encourage the use of books and music and participate in activities that that will expose the child to the language and culture in a positive manner.
Hear more about Penny and her experience raising two bilingual daughters in today’s podcast. (Foto courtesy of Foto Mía)
This is by a Cuban-American mom in Jersey facing many obstacles as she struggles teach her kids Spanish: English-speaking caregivers, media in English and the grind of daily life. They don’t want to learn and would rather speak English. She’s on the verge of giving up: http://blog.nj.com/parentalguidance/2007/11/bilingual.html
Thanks very much for the link. What a sad story. But it sounds like that household is being run by a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. If that mom wants her children to speak Spanish, she has to to be firm and hang tough. It’s a stage her children are going through, not wanting to speak Spanish. The mom should do whatever it takes to make sure that those kids don’t lose contact with the Spanish language and she can do that by always speaking to them in Spanish and encouraging the abuelitos to do the same. Those kids will thank her when they become adults. Mom knows best.