What are the pros and cons of raising a bilingual child?

Question

What are the pros and cons of raising a bilingual child?

Answer 1

i wouldn't think that there are any cons. Children are very good at learning more than one language. like for instance. When i was a child i learned 5 languages. and i am fine today

Answer 2

There are no real cons in raising a bilingual child.  Knowing two languages will be infinitely beneficial to a child.  In fact, if you start early, your child should be able to learn two languages without the difficulty that older people face when trying to learn a new language.  

Being bilingual is helpful at school, in getting a job, for traveling, etc.  I'd say go for it!

Answer 3

I don't know that there are any cons.  Children are more apt to learn languages better when they are young...and those that know more than one language at a very young age will pick up other languages easier later.

Answer 4

Con: If you don't know all the languages that your child knows they can curse you out without you ever knowing.

Pro: You're shopping and standing on line at the register to pay and a woman, who doesn't speak much of the same language as you, cuts the whole line and steps in front of you to be next.  You politely tell her she has to wait her turn at the end of the line.  She PRETENDS she has no idea what you're saying because she doesn't speak your language.  Your very talented bilingual child can then step up and get in her face and tell her to move herself to the end of the line and wait her turn like everybody else has been for the last 15 minutes.  

I think that pro out weighs the con.

Answer 5

The only con that I'm aware of is that children who are raised in a bilingual environment may be slightly delayed in speaking.  My guess is that it's due to having far more and possibly contradictory rules of grammar to figure out.  Otherwise, I'd say that it's going to be beneficial for many reasons, elaborated by others before me.

Answer 6

There are no cons to raising a child bilingual.  My daughter is 18 and she speaks French, Spanish, Japanese and English. English is not her L1. She is an honor student. If you would love to discuss your question more, I can send you as much research as needed. Feel free to email me privately at [e-mail].

Dr. Patricia Alvara

Dr. Al's ESL/Bilingual Educational Consulting Services

Answer 7

not sure there are cons to this, unless the child gets confused at first. otherwise there are pros of being able to communicate twice as effectively at any given time. not sure if spanish 2nd language of choice but it is 2nd most spoken in the us after english. it helps when applying for jobs and such also it gives u a leg up in eyes of employers b/c thats more people they can do business with!

Answer 8

Can't really think of many cons, other than some confusion early on, can be possible.

My cousin's little boy is half Hispanic, and he stayed with his paternal grandmother (who doesn't speak English), and learned Spanish.  The problem was that he was a little confused and he had been learning Spanish with his grandmother and using it for most of the day, then came home and my cousin didn't understand much of what he was saying, and he had a little more of a difficult time telling what she says.  Now he's in a half-day preschool, and he's fluent in Spanish and English.

The problem, I think, wasn't that he was being raised bilingual, but that the time spent, and the fact that the grandmother didn't understand English and the mother didn't understand Spanish, caused him some problems early on.

Answer 9

Same thing here....no cons at all.  I think it is only a benefit for them.

Answer 10

I know of no downside.

Answer 11

I teach at a bilingual school and I feel that it is a benefit to speak multi languages. In this day and time, knowing another language is an advantage in the job market!

Answer 12

Priviet! I can speak russian and english and so can my 5 year old sister and my one year old brothers are catching on because my parents talk in it.  I learned russian becuase we moved here when I was 6 and my sister was a baby. I am 11 and forgetting how to spell but I can speak it because my parents are HORRIBLE AT ENGLISH. for instance last week I had a friend who doesn't speak russian come over. When we woke up my mom wanted to know if my friend wanted toast so she said "you no toast" My friend looked puzzled "what" she said. My mom said "You yes toast" I made my mom tell it to me in russian and then translate it to her.хотите некоторый тост is how you would say it or write it in russian. (we have a special button so my dad and mom can write in russian on the computer. Well пока (bye)

Answer 13

The more languages the child can speak the better in my books, So many opportunities will open up to him/her as they get older, only con might be if he/she gets confused and speaks hebrew in a mosque or visy versa.

Answer 14

can't think of any cons unless there are detectable foreign accents in one or both languages.

Answer 15

I don't see any disadvantages unless the child has a speech or learning disability (slows them down even further).  I grew up in a town where half the population was composed of Portuguese immigrants. All the kids were bilingual.  Heck, I had a 3 year old translate for her parents once.  

Some of my grandparents were bilingual (German, Finnish).  It's not at all a new thing.  

My cousin's GF is raising 3 autistic children (3 different fathers). They all speak, but not all that clearly and learn both English and Japanese. I think that was a disadvantage for them.  Their mother is never returning to Japan since her relatives are all dead now and they struggle due to their autism already.  The oldest now (8.5 yrs) refuses to speak Japanese, although he understands it fine.

My Mom wasn't bilingual per se.  She only spoke Finnish until about 9 years old.  After my grandmother remarried, she never spoke Finnish again and now wishes she could remember it. So practice is the only thing that keeps it up.