“Do ducks live in the ocean?”
“Why do we have to go to the dentist?”
“Where do babies come from?”
Questions, questions, questions. One of the wonderful (and sometimes tiresome) roles of a mother is ‘The Question Answerer.’ While your sons and daughters ask their parents about anything and everything, moms have quiet, internal questions of their own, such as,
“Am I being a good mom?”
“Is my daughter doing well?”
“How can I invest in my son’s future?”
Here at Cultural Bytes, we can’t answer all the questions you have, but if any moms out there are asking how to teach their son or daughter Spanish, we’ve got you covered. We’ve encountered a lot of moms like you over the years, and here are the top three steps we suggest in pursuing Spanish language learning for your child:
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Commit
Let’s face it. Between soccer practice, family events, school, homework, play dates, shopping, doctor’s appointments, etc., life is busy enough on its own for a mom and her son without adding the challenge of learning another language on top. Learning Spanish is not easy, but we believe the process and end result is worth it ten times over (check out some of our other blogs for reasons why). However, only you can make the decisions as to what is best for your family. The first step to your son learning Spanish is coming to a point where it is crucially important to you, and then making a commitment to pursue this goal and stick with it.
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Come Up With a Game Plan
Great, you’ve taken a big step and made a strong commitment to this worthy goal. Now what? Now you take practical steps towards this goal. There is no ‘one size fits all’ option because each family situation is different, and each child learns differently. In order to, Cultural Bytes has a few questions for you:
- How quickly do you want to achieve this goal? Putting your son or daughter into a Dual Immersion Spanish school or a Spanish class will teach them Spanish more quickly because they are forced to speak it more, while squishing in a 10 minute daily Spanish study with them in between art class and dinner will prove slower results.
- How much time can you give personally? Teaching your son or daughter Spanish yourself is a great way to bond with them, however, that means you need to know Spanish grammar and vocabulary and have the daily, weekly, and monthly time to invest to teach it well. There are many online or in person Spanish classes available that can be helpful if you are short on time. (We might be a little biased, but we think Cultural Bytes’ Classes and Camps are the best ones out there).
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Just Do it
To steal Nike’s famous slogan, step three is to “Just Do It.” Commit, make a game plan that works for you and your son, and begin to put that plan into action.
We respect the fact that you even chose to click on this article and read it, because that shows you’re interested in teaching your son or daughter Spanish, and Cultural Bytes would love to come alongside you in this journey. We offer a fun, interactive, and effective online class called ViLaCa (Virtual Language Camp) that meets online for an hour four days a week, covering topics like food, animals, places, and games.
Whatever path you choose, we can’t wait for the day when your child will start to ask you questions in Spanish. ¿Cuándo empezarás? – When will you begin?
