Monolingual parents with frustrated bilingual toddler

[OrangeTabbyCat]

We aren't really what I would call a multicultural family. But we have a multicultural problem I guess. We live in Canada. My husband and I speak English. Our daughter speaks English and has been picking up French on the playground as we live in a heavily French speaking neighbourhood. This is fine even encouraged. We let her watch these little angel YouTube videos in French which is great because they help her pick up French where we can't help.

The problem is I speak a bit of French but only enough to really read a menu. I wouldn't say I can hold a conversation. I have been teaching her to count, sing the ABC's in both English and French and some simple nursery rhymes. But that's about my limits in French.

But here lately my daughter has been blurting out French that I don't understand and she's been getting increasingly angry when I don't understand. And quite frankly it's hard enough to understand when she's speaking English.

I'll try to calm her down the only way I know how, by speaking English and explaining we only understand a little bit of French, but she tail spins into a full blown tantrum.

Everything online swears this doesn't happen but it's literally happening to us. 😅🤦🏻‍♀️

While I am trying to learn to speak French better myself with language learning apps I just can't keep up with her.

How do we get her to understand that mommy and daddy don't speak French on her level?

[parietal]

She will understand. It will just take time.

it might be better if you only speak English to her. if you speak a little French, she won't get that you can't understand more. But if you stick to English, then she will learn that is the home language.

[OrangeTabbyCat]

Thank you. You may very well be right. Perhaps it is confusing for her that I am speaking it but only sometimes. 😅 I suppose at least for now that I take a break from it until she understands.

[Blueskiesforecast]

I think you need to learn better French since you are in a French neighbourhood! Good luck with the Quebecois accent though!
But on another note, I teach English to children and the parents make it clear that they speak their language 1-to-1 with their children and English if I’m involved in the conversation. Children quickly understand.

[Unabletomitigate]

The issue is not the langauge, its the toddler.
Ours is bilingual, some people in his environment speak two langauges some only one of the two. No one can understand him- because he is a toddler!
Just remain patient with her, and don't stress. Good luck!