Let’s begin with two examples. These examples involve parenting in general, but I think they’ll make this important principle very clear. Then I’ll go on to offer further examples that connect more directly to the challenge of parenting children in more than one language.
As these two examples demonstrate—one from early childhood, one from later childhood—a key principle for parenting in general, and parenting bilingual and multilingual children in particular, is the idea of intentionally shaping (and reshaping) the space of the home to promote the aims we seek.
When Lulu was a baby, our aim was to keep her safe and we did so by pursuing measures to reshape the space in order to minimize the risk of accident.
More recently, as a 13-year-old, she needed help with the aim of creating a new study habit, and since continuing to nag her about this wasn’t working—not for us nor for her—simply reshaping the space to remove the distraction, without having to say another word about it, proved far more effective.
The crucial point, then, when it comes to our bilingual or multilingual aim, is that we must remain mindful and proactive, throughout childhood, about shaping and reshaping the home environment in strategic ways so that we can fortify the process of language development. In other words, the more effectively you shape the space, the more effectively you’ll nurture progress in the minority language (or languages).
Here’s the next round of examples, more specific to our bilingual aim.
Shaping the space to promote language development
Example #2: Because I’m convinced that books and reading—lots of books and lots of reading—are so vital to strong language development, I have flooded my home with books (and magazines) in our target language and have made it an ongoing priority to bring in new books that suit my children’s evolving interests, language level, and level of maturity. And not only do we have a number of large, overflowing bookcases, I also make a point of regularly placing books that I think might appeal to them on the couch, on the table, etc.—without comment—then, attracted by the covers, they will often open them and begin reading. Meanwhile, for nearly 10 years I’ve made continuous use of a very productive strategy I call “captive reading,” where I post various kinds of texts in our bathroom and my kids invariably read them simply because I’ve intentionally shaped this space to engage their attention.
Along with ample input through speech, my persistent efforts to promote books and reading are truly at the heart of the success I’ve experienced at fostering strong language development in children and I encourage you to see these posts for much more on this subject.
This principle benefits the parent-child bond, too
I hope this post (and the related links) offer helpful food for thought with regard to shaping or reshaping your home in strategic ways so that the space can support your bilingual or multilingual aim as effectively as possible. At the same time, it’s also true that making thoughtful physical changes to the home environment can actually reduce the need for direct nagging (as in my example with my daughter and her desk) and prevent potential friction and conflict. In other words, pursuing this principle can benefit not only language development but also the parent-child bond because the physical space continually breeds patterns of behavior and emotion, for better or worse.
And remember, optimizing your home for language acquisition and use is an ongoing challenge that should remain a mindful priority for your efforts throughout the childhood years. So make the most of this ever-present opportunity to shape your living space in constructive ways for your bilingual aim and for a positive relationship with your kids!