Bilingual Child

Before we even had Raphael, Ryan and I had a conversation that we would raise him as bilingual. Not just because we are both Filipinos but because we know that it is going to benefit him in the long run.

Based from the different studies I've read, teaching a child a second language is quite easy. Children as young as my son do not get confused by both languages contrary to popular belief. Their brains are able to compartmentalize and know the difference between the languages.


In many countries particularly in Asia, it is just but common for children to have two or more languages. The most common way to teach the child is to use the language itself in our every day conversations and by exposing them in a community that uses it.

There are disadvantages to it though but they are all temporary so we are not worried about it. Children that are being raised bilingual tend to speak a little late than those who are not and we expect that this may be the case with our little one. They also tend to mix up words from both languages but they'll eventually get pass it. Who doesn't anyways? Even grown-ups like us mix up words and monolingual children struggle to find words when talking.

Since my husband and I speak and understand both English and Filipino, we are hoping that our child would too. We would like him to be able to at least understand our native language so he'll learn to love his heritage. We believe that this is the first step for him to understand and appreciate the Filipino in him.

Recommended Reading: Bilingual and Multilingual Children:
A Different Perspective