Raising a Bilingual and Bicultural Little Bear

Contributing Writer: Sofia Lopez-Ibañez of Texas

Life takes you to different places and makes you perform different roles than you expected...  Being a bilingual and bicultural parent was never in my mind when I pictured myself as a mother; but, here I am with my partner raising a bilingual, bicultural little bear. Born and raised in Mexico, we came to the U.S. as teenagers. We continue to live in Texas and we have acculturated to the point where we feel comfortable raising our child with the “best of both worlds.” 

There are several reasons why we have decided to raise a bilingual, bicultural little bear. The two main reasons are:

1. My husband and I are very proud of our roots, origin and heritage and at the same time we are proud to have the opportunity to become Americans.  We can't deprive our son from experiencing what we lived and develop a strong sense of pride for, being Mexican by heritage and American by origin.

2. By being bilingual and bicultural, we want to plant a seed of interest in other cultures and languages so our little bear can be open to learning and knowing those cultures and languages around him.

In order to successfully raise a bilingual and bicultural child, we have committed to passing on our traditions, beliefs, and language.  We also have committed to introducing American traditions, beliefs, and language as much and with the same emphasis. This will help our little bear to feel confident speaking two languages and being a part of two cultures. Our little bear is almost two years old.  We speak Spanish at home and expose him to English through family members, social activities, play dates, literacy, games and T.V.  We celebrate Día De Los Muertos and watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July after eating ribs, corn, and mashed potatoes.  We have vacationed in Chicago and Puerto Vallarta.

We are exposing our little bear to the beauty of both countries and languages as much as possible. We feel really proud when we see his excitement at a baseball game or after eating a “churro.”  We take these as signs that we are succeeding at making him comfortable with both experiences.  For us, it's all about balance. I am proud that my little bear says “gracias” as well as asks for his “ball.” Mixing words it's totally normal at this stage, until he learns "code-switching" and is able to switch languages depending on the kind of situation, either bilingual or monolingual. At this point, my little bear responds the same way to instructions whether it’s Spanish or English, without any expression of confusion. These are all signs he is receiving a balanced exposure to both languages.

Our family is lucky to be in a community so close to Mexico with a significant Hispanic influence. This helps to increase exposure of our Mexican heritage, while at the same time having family and friends who are American and can help introduce the American culture as well.

Dia de Los Muertos, 2016