Photobucket

The Joy of Raising a Bilingual Child

by Dagmar on November 20, 2009

SMILE!

L bday smile

Not, not like that!

L bday smile 2

Aww, now I felt bad for having said something…

Raising Landon to be bilingual in English and German is proving to be more of a challenge to accomplish than I thought. All you bilingual parents will understand what I am talking about, and I will go into more detail about that another time, but sometimes you get these kinds of gems that are just too precious. This is the exchange Landon and I had yesterday:

Landon: “What is that?”

Me: “Das is eine Krake, an octopus.”

Landon: “That a Krakapus.”

Me (laughing): “Nein, eine Krake.”

Landon: “No, I want to say Krakapus. I like Krakapus.”

Me: “Okay, Krakapus it is.”

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Leave a Comment

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Laura July 20, 2011 at 7:03 PM

It’s easier to learn languages for small children. I started learning English and Spanish at the same time before I turned two. I’m completely bilingual and I can hold my own with Portuguese and French. It’s a lot easier for children to associate words and build vocabulary when they are young. Keep saying the word in both languages so he can link them in his head.

Adults have trouble learning a new language because they try to build from their native tongue. Your child will eventually hear both languages without translating in his head. Simply everything will make sense regardless of language.

Reply

Carrie February 28, 2011 at 9:13 PM

Krakapus! I love it!

As a family we’ve decided to learn Spanish this year. (My husband speaks a little, and his father lives in Costa Rica so it’s a good language to start with.) When I told my 8 year old, she said, “But what if I forget English words?!” LOL

Reply

MummyinProvence January 27, 2011 at 8:25 PM

That is too cute! BabyinProvence isn’t talking yet but I am wondering what words she will mix up when she does … she does say AhhhWaa when I tell her to say “Bye bye” which I guess is her saying Au Revoir in French… it amazes me as I was monolingual until I moved to France 2 years ago …

Reply

gina October 2, 2010 at 10:47 PM

lol – too cute. what a great undertaking – i lost my ability to speak Italian by the time I was 10 – keep at it!!

Reply

Melodie November 24, 2009 at 9:23 PM

Too cute! I’m not raising bilingual kids but it seems appropriate to share here that my daughter insists the right word for umbrella is “rainbrella.” She’s two. Works for me!

Reply

Annie @ PhD in Parenting November 22, 2009 at 2:14 PM

Oh that sounds so familiar. We hear lots of Pigge, Horsen, Dogge and other in our house.

Reply

Liz November 22, 2009 at 5:17 AM

hahaha!! That’s great!

Reply

Cascia @ Healthy Moms November 20, 2009 at 7:05 PM

That is cute! I wish I was more fluent in another language. I took German in high school and college but I think I’ve forgotten most of it. You have a smart child!

Reply

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: