English or Spanish first???

Ellie - posted 5 hours ago

The first advice my paediatrician gave me was to teach spanish to my lil one, he told me she will get english from school and he was right. She is now 6 and in fluent in both. Only spanish in the house is good way to reinforce it, also read spanish books and when they are reading subscribe them to spanish magazines for their age.

Diana - posted on 04/01/2013

I have a 6month old baby boy and I speak both languages to him. My husband only speaks English and my side of the family only speaks Spanish. I want my baby to speak both languages.

Soccer - posted on 02/27/2013

Only do Spanish at home. Your kids will learn English at school. Especially your younger ones. I have 3 kids and the 2 older ones are fluent in Spanish my youngest almost lost it because as the older ones learn English at school they come home & talk to each other in English so the younger one was hearing English more. But I told the kids Spanish at home if they spoke English I'd tell them I didn't understand so the Lil one became fluent. Now that the youngest is 8 they can speak whatever because I know he they won't lose
Spanish.

Silvina - posted on 11/12/2011

Both. I just read and article saying that the younger kids start learning a second language the better.. Even if they don't speak neither language in full.

Edith - posted on 09/28/2010

we speak both english and spanish in the house. i'll say something is english and then spanish my 19month old will say it and understands when i tell him agane when i point at it he says it in both languages.

Stephanie - posted on 09/28/2010

encourage them to speak both. It will be an easier transition from each side of the family to speak a certain language.

NATHALY - posted on 09/19/2010

Is good for the kids to learn different languages. They learn faster & easy with examples. I speak spanish & my husband english but i am teaching both languages at the same time!!!. I know how important is to comunicate so i recommend to teach the languages that we speak at home.. English, spanish, or any other kind.. Your kid will say thank you parents!!!!

Olga - posted on 09/18/2010

It doesn't matter really, as long as you say it in both languages for examle," Where is your bear? Donde esta tu oso? That is the way to do it and trust me.....some people will tell you that it will confuse your child and I say that is false because I have proof four times! I spoke spanish and english to my 3 boys and my baby girl now and they did good in school. Buena Suerte! Good Luck! LOL!

Stephanye - posted on 09/17/2010

ihave the same thing going on with my family. im just teaching her both. every one tells me that its easiest when they learn a 2nd language when there younger though. so i just keep speaking to her in both languages.

Melissa - posted on 09/17/2010

I speak to both of my kids English and Spanish.

Elvia - posted on 09/15/2010

i keep both lanquages qoinq for my 3 year old. && when she doesnt understand somethinq i translate it for her.

Ashley - posted on 09/13/2010

Me and my husband are planning on speaking to ou daughter when she is older in both I will speak to her mostly in english and he will speak to her in spanish

Daniela - posted on 09/10/2010

I would say, spanish at home and english outside home.... if you live in the States, they will learn english at school... I know it is hard for the 3 year old (I have one too) and it was really frustrating for him (and me sometimes) but it is getting better

Jenny - posted on 09/09/2010

I speak english and some portuguese word to my son. His father only speaks english and I speak portuguese and spanish. I grew up only knowing those two languages. It was harder for me to really speak english when starting in 2nd grade in my neighborhood now cuz at my old school they spoke spanish. So I rather just let my son know some words in portuguese and pick on other words when he grows up. Anyway, spanish is widely spoken so I doubt he'll not know spanish when he grows up. My more concern is with portuguese but I plan to speak partially in that language and get books etc in portuguese so he knows some portuguese as well.

Melissa - posted on 09/05/2010

I think that Spanish should be learned at home because when the kids go to school they going to pick up English so fast.

Amanda - posted on 09/03/2010

Well I have 3 girls and 2 stepsons, my oldest girl is 14 speaks, reads and understands english and spanish, my seven year old also understands and speaks english and spanish and my 20 month old is also learning both. As for my stepsons my 13 year old does not speak spanish or understands spanish but that because they never taught him and the 4 year old does speak and understand spanish and english. I have teached my kids both languages from the begining and they have no problems, you would be amazed on how fast they learn and how much they remember so as for me I would just do both at the same time and no they do not get confused like I said all my kids except for the 13 year old boy have no problems with both languages.

Nicolle - posted on 08/28/2010

Speak spanish ONLY and he'll get the english from everyone else! I promise he'll be totally bilingual!

Yesika - posted on 08/27/2010

I have a 4 yr old daugther too, And AS a bilingual mother I've always spoke to her both languages to encourage her her roots, her culture. I know Doctors or other ppl might tell you that u will confuse them, which to me that's just a myth, Cuz my daughter Aunderstands Both languages very well, And also speak both languages very well. I will suggest you to now teachh ur 1 yr old both as i did, so the same thing that happened with ur other older kids won't happen again. Good Luck!

Lisa - posted on 08/27/2010

I would encourage to teach him spanish first because english is common he'll pick it up easier and when he goes to school he'll perfect them both. I use to have a neighbor that her kids only spoke spanish but once they started school they learned english so he can be fluent in spanish and by the time he starts school he'll be coming home knowing it. Ok maybe not over night but you get my point.

Denise - posted on 08/26/2010

I thought that it would be difficult to speak only spanish and let my husband do the speaking in english since he doesn't know spanish but it is not so bad. I am trying to talk to my baby in spanish while everyone else is speaking english. this will help her to be bilingual by the time she starts speaking and then school. If you have to translate what you are saying to spouse or other children then that is fine. Eventually they will all pick up on the second language a little bit.

See the following article for more info:
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoo...

Natasha - posted on 08/24/2010

I speak both languages. When I was little my parents thought it was best to teach us english since we live in US. But, I came to realize that was a big mistake, because as I got older I had to learn spanish by myself the hard way. To this day I can speak spansih fluently but, I am still learning new words to expand my vocabulary. When I had my children we spoke to them only in spanish. As they got older, they started watching tv, and playing with other kids and they picked up english easily. Now they speak both, and when they are at home we speak strictly spanish, but, sometimes, they have me talking to them in english now. :)

Hannah - posted on 08/23/2010

Hi, my husband's side speak Dutch and I speak Spanish. I only spoke Spanish to my daughter since birth, and Daddy spoke Dutch. She learned both and it was not a problem and she could handle it perfectly until she went to school. All the other kids and teachers don't speak Spanish so she learns faster the other language. To keep her interested in Spanish, I do 2 things: all books and DVDs are in Spanish and I keep talking to her in Spanish even if she replies in Dutch. Persistancy works! Btw, her favorite is storytelling in Spanish! ;-) (She is 3 and a half years old).

Vanessa - posted on 08/22/2010

i will suggest to keep talking both languages if they have problems undertanding translate for them, children will lear both languages easier when they are younger.