Mom Raises Bilingual Daughter in Mexico With One Simple Rule

When Sarah DeVries' daughter started kindergarten in Mexico, she discovered something wonderful. Speaking two languages made her cool.

"Bye, Mommy! Have a good day, Mommy!" she'd shout in English for everyone to hear. The head turns and open-mouthed stares from classmates delighted her.

At home, the little girl naturally switches between languages. She speaks English with her American mom and Spanish with her Mexican father and everyone else. Her "mother tongue" is exactly that: the language she uses with her mother.

DeVries didn't formally teach her daughter English the way she'd teach students in a classroom. Before moving to Mexico, she assumed raising kids abroad would automatically make them bilingual. She learned it takes more intention than that.

Her number one rule? Only speak to your child in your native language, especially if you're the foreigner. DeVries noticed many English-speaking parents in Mexico speak to their kids primarily in Spanish. That makes bilingualism much harder.

When her daughter was two, she pushed back for about two days. She'd ask for things in Spanish and get frustrated when her mom responded, "You have to speak to Mommy in English, sweetie." She eventually gave in, and now she looks confused on the rare occasions her mom speaks Spanish to her.

DeVries also surrounds her daughter with English media. Movies, music, and books help with vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Her daughter now has preferences: "Hercules" sounds better in Spanish, but "Sing" works best in English.

Travel matters too. At 18 months, her daughter visited the United States for the first time and barely spoke English with anyone but her mom. Then grandma made pie. When DeVries refused to ask for a slice on her behalf, her daughter gathered the courage to ask herself.

Why This Inspires

DeVries wants other parents to know that bilingual kids often take longer to start speaking. Babies in bilingual homes pay close attention, sorting out which language to use with whom. That extra processing time is worth it.

She also reminds foreign parents not to feel guilty about insisting their kids speak their native language. Being a permanent foreigner and second-language speaker in nearly every aspect of life is hard. You deserve at least one person in your family with whom you can speak your own language.

Now her daughter code-switches effortlessly, moving between her two worlds with the ease that comes from growing up with both languages as home.