Will Speaking Two Languages Hurt My Child’s Language Development?

If you’ve been told that speaking your home language with your child will do more harm than good, I am so sorry.

Raising your child to be bilingual is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give them. There are so many benefits to bilingualism, including an increased ability to:

• learn new words

• use information in new ways

• solve problems, and 

• understand other’s perspectives

And while every bilingual child is different and there are variations in bilingual language development, it’s important to remember that: 

Bilingualism does not cause language delays. In fact, research shows that typically developing bilingual children develop language in much the same way as monolingual children. When your little one starts combining words, they may “codeswitch” or mix the two languages in a phrase or sentence. This is a normal part of bilingual language development. They may also apply the rules of one language to the other. 

Learning two languages is not overwhelming for your child’s brain. With the right exposure, children can learn languages as naturally as they learn any other skill.

Bilingualism does not confuse your child. In fact, research shows that bilingual infants can separate their two languages and show no signs of confusion, and bilingual toddlers are able to differentiate and appropriately use their two languages with others. 

Bilingualism is beautiful and deserves to be celebrated!

That said, if your bilingual toddler is lagging in their speech and language milestones, they might benefit from a speech and language evaluation.

Reach out to your child’s pediatrician, a speech-language pathologist, and/or your area early intervention program for next steps and 1:1 support.

Click here to shop for bilingual baby-toddler books in your language!