“How many words do you think he can say?”, I asked, as I do for all 2 year olds, at a recent well child visit.  The mom’s eyes gleamed proudly, “at least 50 I think” and then her face dropped, “but they’re mostly in Spanish.”

In my diverse practice well over half of the families speak a language other than English at home.  And, the above is a common scenario- apparent disappointment or shame that their young child prefers that language to English, or speaks a mixture of both.  I have made it my mission to dispute the notion that speaking two or more languages at an early age is somehow a disadvantage, and I am really happy to see so many recent studies that back me up. Continue reading →