Being a Bilingual Household

Last Friday when the garbage truck was inching down the street, our son got excited. "Tuck! Tuck!" We went outside to watch it, and then he toddled to my husband to tell him what he missed. "Tuck! Tuck!"

My husband only speaks in French to our son, so when his response included the word "camion," the little guy got a little stompy. "No! Tuck!" And then he went into his room and pulled out two French books with trucks in them to show to papa. They had a discussion about how with mama it's "truck" and with papa it's "camion." I'm sure this was the first of many linguistic conflicts to come.

Before our son was born, I read The Bilingual Family by Edith Harding-Esch and Philip Riley. It was first published almost 30 years ago, when people were still unsure about the benefits of bilingualism, so the book presents a lot of success stories as case studies.

The Bilingual Family doesn't give a step-by-step guide on how to raise a bilingual child, and that is deliberate. Instead, it presents the stories, challenges, benefits, and outcomes of several bilingual families. The key points that I took from the book are:

• Start from birth
• Be consistent
• Find ways to enrich the environment with the non-dominant language
• Don't worry, it will all work out

The book was very encouraging, and I know that in the long run, the benefits of having a bilingual household will be worth the occasional stompy moment.

New Years Resolutions

2013 will bring us more teeth, more words, and more activity.

Here are some of my resolutions for 2013 as a parent:

• Sleep through the night, even if it means going to a hotel and leaving him with grandma! My reserves are tapped, and rest is necessary to patiently keep up for a year of toddlerhood.
• Watch what I say. Our little guy is listening, and tone and words can make an imprint. I aim to be less critical of myself and others when I'm speaking and follow the maxim "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." There may be some silence in 2013.
• Or, fill that silence with French. We are committed to raising our son bilingually. My husband speaks to him 100% in French, but I know that he needs to hear more French conversation. My sleep deficit makes clearly communicating even in English a challenge. But this year I aim to have at least one conversation a day en français.

Happy new year!