Raising bilingual children when one parent speaks a different language

In many families across the UK and Europe, one parent speaks English and the other speaks a second language — Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Polish, or any of the hundreds of languages that make up the fabric of modern family life. The question is always the same: will our child grow up speaking both?

The answer is almost always yes — but not automatically. Bilingualism in young children requires exposure, consistency, and the right materials. It doesn't require drills, flashcards, or pressure. What it needs most is presence: a parent who speaks their language naturally, and objects in the home that reflect both worlds.

The silent phase

Many bilingual toddlers go through a period where they understand the minority language perfectly but respond only in the majority language. This is normal and well-documented in linguistics research. The child is absorbing, processing, and building an internal vocabulary that will emerge when they're ready. Parents who persist — who keep reading, naming, singing in their language — are the ones whose children eventually speak it.

This is where books become essential. A bilingual book gives the minority language a physical presence in the home. It's not just something a parent says — it's something that exists, printed and permanent, on a page the child can return to.

One parent, one language

The most common strategy for bilingual families is OPOL — one parent, one language. Each parent speaks exclusively in their language to the child. This gives the child a clear model: with mamma it's Italian, with daddy it's English. The approach isn't rigid — code-switching happens, and that's fine — but having a default creates consistency.

Bilingual books support OPOL because they allow both parents to read the same book. The Italian-speaking parent reads the Italian words; the English-speaking parent reads the English ones. The child hears both, sees both, and learns that the same object has two names, depending on who is speaking.

Starting early

There is no age too young to start. Even before a child speaks, they are listening, recognising patterns, and building neural pathways for language. A board book with clear images and two languages is one of the simplest and most effective tools a bilingual family can use. Not because it teaches — but because it makes both languages visible, tangible, and worth pointing at.