Challenges of Raising a Bilingual Child & What to Expect

What the ups, downs, and (very normal) detours can look like—plus gentle ways to keep going.

After a week with cousins, your child comes home chattering in English. Breakfast is a rapid-fire recap of games and jokes—zero interest in Grandma’s language. It’s easy to worry you’re “losing” bilingualism. But here’s the truth: languages ebb and flow with school, friends, media, and mood. Your job isn’t to control the tide—it’s to keep the waters warm and inviting.

Connection first, consistency next. A little every day beats a lot once in a while.

What to expect (so you don’t feel blindsided)

• Uneven growth is normal. One language will surge when school or peers use it more. That doesn’t mean the other is “gone”; it means it needs steady, meaningful exposure at home.

• Mixing languages (code-mixing) is part of the process. Young children borrow the most convenient word. Some parents worry that the child is confused - far from it! It's more helpful to see this behavior as a communication strategy!.

• A “silent period” is very normal. Especially when a new language enters the picture, children may listen more than they speak for a while - even a whole year! But fret not - they're actively processing the language and preparing for speech. This is typical additional-language behavior. Keep them exposed to the new language, and keep pressure low.

• Production lags behind comprehension. Kids often understand far more than they say. You’ll hear bursts after stretches of quiet—growth isn’t linear.

What helps

• Serve-and-return conversation. Follow your child’s point, look, or word with a responsive comment or question—then pause so they can “return.” This back-and-forth is a core driver of language development.

• Make reading a chat, not a performance. Shared reading boosts language and social-emotional skills, especially when you pause for one open question (“What changed?” “How do they feel?”). Keep it joyful.

• Use dialogic reading—10 seconds at a time. Ask one open question per page, echo your child’s idea, add one detail, and turn the page. Even brief doses show benefits.

• Anchor two tiny routines. Choose one daytime moment (e.g., breakfast chat) and one evening moment (story + song) in your home language.

• Prioritise joy and usefulness. Order food in a grandparent's language. Send a voice note to an uncle. Tell one bedtime joke. When a language does something fun or useful, kids come back to it.

When to check in with a professional

Trust your instincts—and compare like with like. If you’re concerned about communication across all languages (not just one), or you see sustained frustration with understanding/speaking, seek a speech-language evaluation. A bilingual-aware clinician will assess skills in the languages your child hears most. Remember: bilingualism isn’t the problem—lack of access and support can be.

Keep bilingualism doable

Because the real challenge is staying steady through the ups and downs, we’re building short, joyful audio stories and simple talk prompts that make two-language routines easy to keep—on busy weekdays and long after the motivation dips. Click the button to join our beta!

Join the beta!