any advice or reassurance welcomed!

[fridgemonkey]

We are bringing up my little boy (2.2) to hopefully be bi-lingual (I'm English, husband is French).

I've done lots of research into it and I think that we are doing the right thing. Not teaching him French isn't really an option as he has a huge French family who don't speak any English at all......

The problem is I'm worried that he's falling behind in his language development. He's not particulary verbal, I've never counted his words, but he doesn't seem as far forward as other children of his age. He has words in French and English and a couple of simple sentences in both but is it enough?

I think doubts in my mind have been cast by my outspoken (but lovely) neighbour who has a grandchild a few months younger than my son, who is very, very chatty. She told me that she thinks we should have waited and let him learn one language, "I mean look at my GS, he talking a mile to the minute. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll catch up soon."

Aaargh! He will, won't he? I'm not doing him a disservice am I? We use OPOL.

Please let me know of your successful experience of bringing up bilingual children.
I'm sure it can be done.
Thanks,
FMx

Mine are billingual (english and swedish), but they spoke quite late. They didn't really have much language before the age of 3. This could of course be coincidence. They all speak in the end though. Lots of toddlers don't have many words around the age of 2 while others chat fluently.

"How Babies Think" can't remember the author's name - explains all about how babies learn languages.

Don't worry,
Ignore your neighbour.
She knows eff all.
I'm a SALT and work with tonnes of bilingual people as well as living in and being product of a bilingual family (there are 4 languages going on in my immediate family)

Normal for bilingual children to speak more slowly than others but don't compare your kid to hers anyway.

It is a huge huge blessing to be bilingual. Stick to the one person one language rule and you will befine!

Bon chance!!

It may not have anything to do with the bilingualism. DS seems to be ahead of his single language peers and DD behind. They are both bilingual English/French.

My DS is 20 months and talking a bit, just less than the average child of his age (and in English, because he's with me most of the time. DH is French, we live in France).

In fact compared to my nephew, who is a year older and was talking amazingly at this age, DS is positively retarded! But I'm not worried. We have 2 bilingual older girls, we've done this before.

You will probably find that your DS's English is much stronger than his French, long term, though, assuming you live in the UK.

You're doing everything correctly and your neighbour is wrong.

Our situation is very similar to yours (I'm English and dh is German and we also used OPOL from birth.

Dd started talking relatively early, at about 15 months and was very fluent in both langs by the time she was 2.5.

Ds, on the other hand, didn't start talking until he was 2. They are now 8 and 5 and speak both languages fluently.

Good luck!

Hi I've always found the billingual children talk late thing to be a bit of myth. All children develop at their own rates and they vary immensely. I think the tendency if often to assume that these natural variations are due to billingualism rather than just being natural.

My dd is now 10 and was brought up roughly OPOL English / German (well Austrian actually) and I don't remember her having any problems with talking, other than perhaps now of getting a word in edgeways with her. Although speling is a completely different thing...

I agree with all the others. Ignore the neighbour, your DS is normal, and just think how your neighbour will be in a few years when your DS is fluent in both languages .

FWIW my DS was exactly the same when he was 2.2 - fewer words and limited sentences compared with his peers. But a year or so after that and you couldn't have been able to tell the difference between them. Each kid is different though - my sister's DS (also bilingual) was very chatty and had an amazing vocabulary at 2.2.

As your DS gets a bit older there will also be a phase where you wonder whether he will ever speak his second language. He may only answer and talk in his stronger language. But it doesn't mean he doesn't understand and it doesn't mean he won't speak the other language in his own time. Lots of people come on here posting about this issue. My DS is 4.7 now and has just made me very happy by now talking exclusively in his second language when he is alone with me - a first for him. When he knows it is just me and him at home, it's like a switch is flicked and he changes languages. [proud mama emoticon] It feels like it has been a long time coming!

(OK, end of my Amateur SALT Session )

Also in agreement with the previous posts! Your neighbour's reaction is typically British. In Belgium, where I come from, bilingualism is the norm, rather than the exception, and nobody is ever worried about it. It just means that children can learn a third or fourth language without breaking a sweat.

Our son is 3 now and has only ever wanted to speak English - even though I've always addressed him in French.

We recently went on holiday in France, when he realised that the only way to play with other kids was to speak French, so he just launched into it.

We have other bilingual friends in London whose children were very, very silent until about 3 years of age - only to produce perfectly formed sentences in both languages, literally overnight.

Take it easy and it will all happen whenever your child is ready.

Have to go with the general consensus here. My ds1 (3) he speaks english/french and has had no problems which I have been surprised because I was expecting problems because of this gloomy attitude. Dont worry you are doing the right thing. Speak to your Dr or hv to check if there are no other problems just to make sure then you can continue on your road to bilingualism guilt and stress free!

There are loads of useful links about bringing children up bilingually below. I don't know if you have seen these before. The research I have read so far suggests that being bilingual has cognitive advantages for kids. Children vary greatly in the rate at which they acquire language so I do not think you need to worry about your neighbour's comments.
Most of the people I know who have brought their kids up bilingually have gone through a phase when they wondered if they were doing the right thing however everyone I know who is bilingual is really glad they were brought up with more than one language.

www.omniglot.com/links/language.htm#kids

I agree with the consensus:

Whether a child talks early or later is not due to them being raised bilingually but simply due to them developing at a different rates. Some children are early talkers/readers, some take a little longer. They all get there in the end .

In our case, our bilingually (German me, English dh) raised dd (6) spoke and read very early. She is completely bilingual, happily talking or reading in either language. On the other hand ds (4) was a late talker, he still now mixes the languages and is generally a lot less 'verbal' than dd.

So, whether a child talks early or later has nothing to do with them being raised bilingually in my opinion. There are a lot of books on the subject and they seem to suggest the same.

So do continue your OPOL approach to raising your son bilingually, as it is such a great long term advantage!

Dear Fridgemonkey - You say "hopefully bilingual" - The hardest thing is making the leap of faith that the child understands both languages. I didn't entirely and tended to speak too much in French (me - English, DP - French, living in France) to DD (6)when she was little. So her English isn't as good as her French. However, the best advice I ever read was "do what comes naturally" the worst was "refuse to understand her if she speaks to you in French" -given by a man with bad breath in a supermarket. As a family we speak French and for ages DD only spoke French but now on our own DD and I speak mostly English - she often replies in French and we both jumble up English and French in the same sentence - which makes us both laugh. She has a cute French accent. Stick with it and believe!

I think the majority of the human population are raised bilingually. It's the english that are the exception!

2.2 years is very very early to be worried about his language skills. The chances are he will catch up no problem. But even if he doesn't catch up, the fact that he is bilingual might not be the actual cause of the problem.

My children are being brought up to speak flemish and english and my four year old dd1 is behind in her language skills. But this is due to her having a hearing problem that is now hopefully solved and her language skills are improving.

Carry on doing what you are doing - OPOL - and it will pay off, and when it does, you will be very proud of your ds.