"Should I wait until my child is in school for them to begin learning a second language?"

"If I introduce a second language very young, will my child get confused?"

"Am I pushing too much on my child to teach a second language early on?"

Perhaps you’ve found yourself asking these questions or something similar. When you boil them all down, they are all asking essentially the same question,

“How early can my child start learning a new language?”

Parent-child bonding is critical for the development of your child. It’s not just about establishing a relationship with your child (which is important), but provides benefits in nearly every area of your child’s life. When children have a secure attachment to their parent(s) or guardian(s), they…

1. Have reduced stress
2. Are better able to regulate their emotions
3. Develop a healthy sense of self
4. Feel free to explore and learn
5. Have greater confidence
6. Have better social skills
7. Even have better physical health
8. Are more capable of establishing healthy relationships with others

Learning is an interesting thing. When we are young, learning is fun. We love it. We’re discovering the world around us, and it’s exhilarating. That’s how we all start, but then later in life, many of us begin to lose that love for learning. That’s unfortunate, and it doesn’t have to be, or at least we can hold it off as long as possible.

One of the reasons we start to lose our enthusiasm for learning is that we tend to focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths. It seems to make sense to us. If we struggle in math, then we should focus on math to get better at it. If we don’t do well in spelling, we need to practice that more. What if we have it backward?

Children's books are an extremely important tool for families hoping to introduce French as a second language at home. However, it can be difficult to find books that are simple enough for second language learners. Ne vous inquiétez pas- I'm here to help! 

Here's a visual list of my favourite French books, organized by age group (infants, toddlers, preschoolers/SK), followed by a few tips on choosing books for that age.

Many of the books listed below belong to a series (ex: Pat le chat, Je t'aime de la tête aux pieds, etc.) be sure to check them out as well! 

Today’s parents feel the pull of many demands on their time.  Work, family, physical health, sleep, extracurricular activities, education, and more all demand more time that you have.  With all that demand, why should you also take part in your child’s education?

123 Petit Pas offers French classes for young children (infants and toddlers) and their parents.  The question is: Why does 123 Petit Pas involve parents in the classes? The answer is that 123 Petit Pas believes the benefits from parental involvement are so great that it’s absolutely worth it for parents to find the time to take part in the classes.  So, how will it benefit you and your child?

Teaching your child a second language can be a rewarding experience for both you and your child.  However, many parents who would like to have their child learn a second language are hesitant if other members of the family don’t also speak that second language.  This can cause parents to wait until their child is in school and just have the school teach the language. This is unfortunate, though, because not only is the child missing out on several years of learning the second language, but there are also several side-benefits to learning a second language at an early age that the child is missing out on.

However, I do understand the difficult situation you may be in if you are the only one in the family that speaks that second language.  This is especially true if your spouse doesn’t speak the language.  Not only may you wonder if you can handle teaching the second language on your own, but you may be concerned about your spouse (or other members of the family) feeling excluded. I want to help you to not only start teaching your child a second language well before they enter school, but also help you to do it in a way that isn’t overwhelming for you and doesn’t make other family members feel left out.
 

So, here are 5 tips for teaching your child a second language, when you are the only one in the family who speaks that language.

With our programs taking a little pause for the Holidays, we wanted to be sure that this didn’t mean a pause in your French practice! We’ve created an interactive Advent Calendar that will allow anyone and everyone to practice French with their little ones at home.

 
If after reading this title you thought, "Why would anyone want to spend their holidays practicing a language?" it probably means your past experiences with language learning haven't been too amusing and we're here to help! It’s SO important to make language learning relevant and fun and the winter holidays can be a very helpful time to do just that. As always, this article is for ANYONE hoping to introduce French to their babies, toddlers, or young children. No matter how little or how much French knowledge you have yourself, there are many ways to introduce the language at home.

We've compiled the ultimate list of entertaining ways to introduce your family to some French this holiday season.

We know a lot of friends and family will be dying to spoil your little ones with gifts this Holiday Season and we’re here to help you make a list of gifts that will be helpful to their language learning journey. Hey- if you have to bring that large obnoxious buzzing toy home, it might as well be helping them learn a second language right? ;)

Here’s our list of favourite French toys & Children's Books :

 Being a part of a few online communities for new parents, I have noticed that this is a frequent topic of concern. Some are worried that close family or friends “baby talking” to their little one might have a negative affect on their ability to speak. Others don’t really mind. Is there a definite answer behind this debate? Sort of, but it’s not clear cut “yes” or “no”. As it turns out, there are different baby talk “techniques”- some can be beneficial, while others can hinder a child’s learning. 

After some thorough reading, I’ve found a few commonalities between the majority of research findings and articles’ statements: