Growing up bilingually

Disadvantages:

 Children who are raised bilingually may face the risk of not mastering

both languages at the same time. This means that they learn slower than

others and have difficulty in school when they must write in one

language. (e.g. immigrant children often face difficulties understanding

the teachers and/or their classmates)

 Children who speak two or more languages might be teased by peers

because of their foreign language. This could lead to exclusion and low

self-esteem of the child. Also, they might abandon their mother tongue

and loose part of their culture.

 Speech impediments become more challenging to take care of, because

each language must be addressed individually

BUT:

Parents can help their children to acquire multiple languages by:

 One parent speaks only one language

 The parents speak one language at home and the other one outside

home (can be problematic because of the unequal time spent at

home/outside)