The Real Deal on Raising Tiny Bilingual People

Hey mom! Today we want to talk about bilingual kiddos without adding “language tutor” to your already packed resume of snack check, boo-boo kisser, and Lego architect. You may have heard that kids need thousands of hours of language exposure to become fluent. And before you panic… we are going to break down the facts.

The Magic Number (it is not 10K)
Research states that kids need 25-30 hours a week of exposure to a language to own it. And before you spill your lukewarm coffee, hear this, it is not all on you.

1. Screen Time. Did you know that you can easily change the language of most cartoons on streaming apps nowadays? Let’s imagine you do it with Bluey. Boom! That those are 20 minutes of passive learning while you do your thing.

2. Car Karaoke. Make commute to school a learning experience and blast songs in Spanish and sing along. It doesn’t matter if you butcher the lyrics, your kid won’t judge.

3. Playdates. Try to get your kid to hang out with Spanish speaking families or even ask if their abuelita could babysit. You get 2 hours for yourself and your kid gets 2 hours of language exposure.

4. Label everything. Write words on sticky notes and paste them around the house and stick to those words. You can now say “Can you pass me el control remoto” and proceed to turn on the TV.

The truth is that fluency doesn’t happen from one day to the next. If you happen to miss a week or a couple of days, don’t worry about it, life happens. It is about consistency not perfection. Even 10 minutes of silly language games or bedtime stories in the target language add up so much.

Remember, language learning is messy, hilarious, and worth it! Someday your kiddo will blow your mind when he is ordering tacos for you.
And, if at any point, you feel like you could use some extra help without making your wallet cry, TruFluency Kids Spanish offers online Spanish Immersion classes with Native Speaking teachers that will definitely help you out.