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@mica_ I think it is awesome that you are doing this. I had to tour like about 25 daycares and weed out the ones that aren't supportive of people from CALD backgrounds (I'm also Aussie). Talk to the parents maybe. They could potentially share you certain songs as well for you to play to the...

@kairete What you're describing is very common. My son basically picked the word he finds easier to pronounce so there's a mix between the languages. For the life of me, I can't remember when he did start to say things in the other language. I'm pretty sure it was pretty early. Like around 1.5...

@anndryperez In that case, I'd ignore Mandarin and English and focus on French and Cantonese. Particularly Cantonese. Mandarin and English sounds like will take care of itself eventually. It is a sad state of affairs that parents keep thinking "Mandarin is more useful" and all these different...

@anndryperez Where do you guys live and what's the community language? For a pre-nursery to have 20% Mandarin, 40% English, 40% Cantonese....Hong Kong? I think it will be helpful if you can tell us what the community language is and what would the language of instruction be once your child is...

@kairete I wouldn't call that suddenly switching. He was always bilingual. This "lag" is more them trying to figure out how to speak. The fact he did actually say "car" to his granny in English early on meant he is already bilingual. Not to mention, I'm sure you can tell your child understands...

@pollyton But I mean, that's how conversation works, right? Even if you're speaking the same language, you wouldn't talk over your partner or your child. You have to wait for your turn anyway? What happens with us here is I will talk with my son. Like I said, my husband listens very closely...

@kairete What you're describing is very common. My son basically picked the word he finds easier to pronounce so there's a mix between the languages. For the life of me, I can't remember when he did start to say things in the other language. I'm pretty sure it was pretty early. Like around 1.5...

@brittanyolee Just keep speaking and using the language. Take her to museums and just discuss everything you see in minority language. Go borrow lots of books (or buy) in minority language and keep reading. I also follow what preschool does as much as possible.

@pollyton Do NOT do this. The aim is to encourage your child to speak. Your husband basically destroyed his confidence right there. What my husband and I do (and no, my husband doesn't understand my language - initially anyway) is if he says something in one language that's not ours, we say...

@fireblaze I think this blog will help you https://chalkacademy.com/ This is a Chinese American mum who has to relearn Mandarin as an adult. In other words, a non-fluent heritage speaker like yourself. Her children are now school aged and she's still going strong so I reckon a lot of...

@x902xxipher I'm sorry but to put it bluntly, your wife needs to get over it. The compromise is you translate and tell her what you've said AFTER you're done talking in German. And she has to start paying attention when you speak to start picking up German. Ask your wife if the situation is...

@lippy1004 If your child is going to enter daycare, there's not much to worry. They adapt super quickly. My friend only spoke their native tongue at home. Even went back to Taiwan and her child attended daycare there for around 3 months. Entered English daycare here in Australia at age 3 and...

@tonyfran Newborns can't really see in colours. You'll find there's a lot of baby board books in black and white. Start with those. Those just have pictures of things with a single word. That's more than enough. By the time my son's about 5 weeks old, we read him simple nursery rhyme books...

@theyownus Valid concern. I think the first question you need to ask yourself, what are your language goals? Heritage language was only added a year ago and you're slowly amping it up so that you could do OPOL. In other words, your child is still on the journey of getting your heritage...

@thabang Reinforce where you can. That can take all different forms like listening to Italian nursery rhymes. Keep encouraging your partner to only speak Italian even when the whole family is together. He can speak to you in English but he should always switch back to Italian with baby. Get...

@newbelieverinchrist So is Norwegian spoken at home at all? If you're all speaking Dutch, that means your partner can speak Dutch as well? If so, I think you should transition to minority language at home then. That is, your entire family just speaks Dutch. This will be more effective to...

@forwhatitsworth Ah, fair enough. An option for that is FaceTime daily. I've seen a couple of families do that to compensate for the distance. E.g. for grandparents to speak to their children in their language

@newbelieverinchrist Check this article out for more ideas around upping Dutch exposure. https://bilingualmonkeys.com/how-many-hours-per-week-is-your-child-exposed-to-the-minority-language/ Question: Who's the primary caregiver? By the sounds of things, your child is at daycare full-time...

@asaithambi I'll put it this way. Not even native English speakers have perfect grammar. Go for it.

@lyrajane1229 So I started exposing my son to Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese at 2. This is what I did. I will say, I'm still light touch on this. With Japanese, I got a bunch of baby Japanese books and read them. The first time, my son was bewildered. I would read it and translate it as I go...