It’s 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning in your household. You’re busy in the kitchen making breakfast and waiting for your husband to come downstairs with your baby so you can start the day.

After a few minutes pass, you hear the familiar giggle of your one-year-old daughter and see her little face appear from around the corner.

Immediately, you greet her by saying, “Guten Morgen, Amelia!"

As your little one is still learning to speak, you don’t see much of a reaction past a beaming smile breaking across her little face. But you can’t quite say the same for your husband, who can’t hide a rather perplexed look instead.

For weeks now, you have been debating with one another whether you should begin speaking to your one-year-old in German as well as English, as German is your mother tongue.

On the one hand, your husband is concerned that it might confuse her or stunt her progress in learning English. Primarily, he wants her to be able to communicate well with her classmates in English. But on the other hand, you want her to be a bilingual child and reap all the benefits this will bring.

Parents, it’s very common to not know whether bilingualism is beneficial for your child. So, if you’ve ever wondered whether it’s the right thing to do to introduce them to a second language this early on, then you’ve come to the right place.

To begin with, let's explore the reasons why some families will choose not to teach their child a second language at home.

What are the reasons for not teaching your child a second language at home?

Parents fear it might confuse their child. Some parents believe that learning a second language this early on might be confusing for their children. From their perspective, learning one language is hard enough, and they want to ensure their child can concentrate on the fundamentals of learning at least one language properly.

They also worry it might delay their speech. From a parent's perspective, they want to ensure their child is communicating at the same level as other children and fear that learning another language might delay this process.

They don’t want to rush their child into language lessons. Some people would say that learning two languages would be a challenge for a child. Therefore, some parents don’t want to rush their children into language lessons at this extremely early stage in their lives.

Now that we’ve looked at the reasons some parents will be against teaching their child a second language at home, let’s understand why others might instead be in favour of teaching their child a second language.

Why do many parents choose to teach their children a second language at home?

Being bilingual can improve a person’s cognitive abilities. Studies have shown that being bilingual is a great asset in more ways than one. For example, this skill has the power to drastically improve a person’s cognitive abilities.

Learning a new language from birth is easier than at any other point in a person’s life. When learning a new language, it’s always been said that it’s much easier for a child to pick things up than an adult. Children’s brains are like sponges, and they soak up new information very well.

Knowing another language can give a person social and career-related advantages. Being able to speak another language can be extremely beneficial for a child as they grow up and navigate their way through life. It opens up many more social and professional opportunities.

It also allows children to appreciate other cultures more deeply. Being able to speak another language also allows a child to learn more about the culture associated with the country in which the language is spoken.

Learning another language improves a child’s attention levels. Studies have shown that in children as young as six months, being raised in a bilingual home helped with the development of their attention.

Bilingualism has been shown to contribute to protecting against Alzheimer’s. Being bilingual is a skill that exercises the brain and, therefore, will contribute to preventing diseases of the brain like Alzheimers.

So, how can I use this information to make an informed decision?

Ultimately, being able to offer your child the chance to learn more than one language is an amazing gift. With so many social and cognitive benefits linked to being bilingual, there are plenty of reasons why you should use the opportunity of having a parent who speaks another language to your advantage. However, if you feel that there might be too much pressure on your child or if you feel uncomfortable teaching them another language, then it’s completely up to you. Remember, there will still be lots of time later on in their lives for them to learn a language if they wish.

Is bilingualism beneficial for my toddler?

From Unii’s Toddler Speech Journey, we look at how speaking more than one language may be an asset to your children.