Liam issues @14 months

[wickedcherub]

I'm struggling with this whole bilingual thing with Liam. Adam isn't being very helpful because he doesn't want me to teach Liam any Vietnamese that he doesn't know, but Liam obviously is going to learn at a faster rate than Adam! I've thought about sitting down and just teaching Adam, school style, but I'm no good at it :(

It's also hard because everyone we come across speaks English, *except* for my parents, who we only see on weekends. So I want him to be able to understand what his aunts etc are saying, especially what they're saying to their kids, who are Liam's playmates.

So I can teach Liam a whole manner of things during the day, you know, cute things like 'where's your belly?' but I feel like I have to teach it to him him English too, so we can show it off to people. So I'm actually just saying everything to him twice, in both languages and I'm sure it's confusing the crap out of him.

I often get asked why he doesn't speak at all, but I'm sure it's just his brain still working out all these languages!

Also: I'm having an issue with biting. He only bites *me*, and it's a sign of affection. He comes up and hugs me, then gives me sloppy open mouth kisses somewhere, and after a while, he'll be all 'CHOMP!' I don't know how to get him to stop. I yell 'OUCH!' then put him down straightaway, but he gets so upset, and I think he's confused as to what I'm upset at.

Especially because I often pick him up and nom him (without teeth) on his face/belly etc, he obviously wants to do that back to me but doesn't realise he can't use teeth. It really hurts. He's got 8 big teeth now. I bruise for days!

Maybe he'll just grow out of it. He also went through a 'I'm gonna make out with my mummy' phase where he kept actually trying to make out with me. I didn't like that, so he used to drag Adam towards me by the ear and hold our heads together with a 'NOW KISS!' Haha someone has to kiss me, apparently.

Comments

[alathia.livejournal.com]

We did one parent, one language. I spoke viet only, todd speaks english.

Just talk viet to liam. He will pick up english from adam and school, it will be fine. I only talk viet to the boys. Samuel didn't talk until he was THREE, and by then it wa in both languages fluently. With albert it is a lot harder because samuel talks to him in english and I have to keep reminding him to speak viet to his brother.

Adam needs to get a grip. A little kid can learn languages loads better than an adult. Liam will be fine if you only speak one language to him

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it's also harder for me simply because my Vietnamese hasn't been that good since moving in with Adam :D

I will try harder. I think I will start slowly, like, make sure I speak nothing but Vietnamese before lunchtime or something.

[nickelodeon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, at the school I work at, everyone says to just speak to your child in the language you want them to learn. They will get English from school or daddy. You'll be happier in the end and he'll be more fluent!

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

Yeah, gonna have to tell Adam to just deal.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

As the other commenters have said, definitely speak more in Vietnamese to him, because he is hearing English everywhere else all the time. He's not going to have a problem with picking up English.

It's understandable that Adam doesn't want to feel left out if you and Liam can both speak Vietnamese and he can't, but really you need to just straight up talk to Liam in Vietnamese, not in a teaching way, but just conversationally, the way you would speak to him in English. Babies' brains are made for picking up language like this.

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

Besides, if Liam is speaking Vietnamese it's likely Adam will pick up more as the years go on too.

[alathia.livejournal.com]

Besides, if Liam is speaking Vietnamese it's likely Adam will pick up more as the years go on too.

totally this. my husband can't speak viet very well, but since he's been exposed to so much in the last six years since our oldest was born, he understands a TON more than he did before we had kids.

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

Yeah, at the moment what's been happening is I'm saying everything twice to Liam. 'Liam, do you want breakfast? Minh Khoa muon an sang chua?'

I'll have to cut it out.

[waxrose.livejournal.com]

My friend's parents did the same as mentioned above - one spoke in English all the time, the other in French. She picked up both just fine.

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

Yes, but did the English speaking parent not want to the French speaking one to speak French?!

[waxrose.livejournal.com]

I think that they had to work that out - as far as I know, neither parent is fluent in the other's language, though probably at an adequate conversational level.

[chicago-ruth.livejournal.com]

Going to second everybody else's suggestions. My mother and father spoke to me in different languages, and (as far as I can tell) I had no problems picking up the languages. Just speak Vietnamese with Liam; he'll thank you when he's older and fluent in both. :)

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

What languages were they?

[chicago-ruth.livejournal.com]

German and English. My English is better than my German, but that's because all the media I consumed (books, tv, music) was in English.

[fitz-y.livejournal.com]

i stopped by on modly duties from pornspiration (just so you don't think i'm some totally random creeper. okay maybe i am), and i just want to say -- i noticed this post. and raising kids bilingual is so so hard, i know. i've seen a lot of my friends do it. especially when only one parent wants to do it. my friend has a blog about exactly this: called german in the afternoon (http://germanintheafternoon.wordpress.com/). her solution is to have set time periods where she only speaks german to her son, and then speak english with him the rest of the time. anyway good luck!

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

Oh that's a wonderful idea, thankyou for stopping by!

I'm going to start with Vietnamese before lunch, I think. It's generally only me and him until Lunchtime, we don't go on playdates or anything until after lunch.