Doesnt she speak English? Oh, I see — both Swedish and English. Doesnt that get awfully confusing? Swedish, you said — when will she use that? Get used to hearing these kinds of things. Youll get opinions from the barista at Starbucks, your mother-in-law, even your neighbors and strangers on the street. Remember, being a trendsetter always ruffles some feathers, and the best way to deal with unsolicited advice (other than running for the door) is to know the facts for yourself.
Here are the most persistent myths on raising bilingual children:
Your child will be confused by learning more than one language.
This belief is prevalent in monolingual countries and has far more politics than science to back it up. Rest assured that your child’s little brain has more than enough neurons firing to cope with two languages (or even more) without frizzing out. On the contrary, decades of research in countless studies actually show significant cognitive advantages to being multilingual. And what about the experience of millions of families around the world where multilingualism is the norm, not the exception? Just look at Canada, Belgium,...