The reason for your interest in raising a bilingual child could be out of necessity or your own desire. Whatever it is, it has been proven that bilingual children perform well than their monolingual peers. Researches say that bilingual children seem to possess better conceptual abilities because they are exposed to a greater number of concepts. Bilingual children are said to possess a variety of positive cognitive benefits, including early reading, improved problem-solving skills. They are exposed to bilingual job opportunities.
One of the commonly used ways of raising a bilingual child is ''One Person, One Language'' (OPOL). This system is used by families in which the parents have different native languages. In this method each parent speaks with the child using the language that is native to that particular parent. The main drawback of this method is that when one parent spends more time with the child, then the language learning risks of the child becomes unbalanced.
Another way of raising a bilingual child is through the ''Minority Language at Home'' Method. This is followed when both parents are native speakers of a different language other than that spoken at the place where they live. In this method both parents communicate with the child only in their native language. The child learns the other language from the community or the school. You can also build a support network in your place. You can find other kids who speak your language and plan for play dates with those children.
You can pick up a bilingual employment if you have knowledge of more than one language. In doing so, you will be able to do justice to your bilingual career and family. Raising multilingual children requires lots of patience. The important considerations are time and consistency. Since it is a long term commitment there will be ups and downs. Praise the child as it tries to speak a new word in any of the languages. Praise can bring wonders. And more importantly learn the benefits, methods, and various concerns associated with teaching children a second language. Then you would feel that raising a bilingual child is an interesting task too.
