The author Gretchen Rubin has a podcast called “Happier” that I like very much. One of the segments in her podcast is what she calls a “know yourself better” question. Sometimes it’s hard to see ourselves clearly, or to understand why we act the way we do. So Rubin and her co-host (and sister!) will ask a question like, “What types of activities energize you?” and then the listener can pick which ones resonate: learning, or parties, or creating, or whatever the case may be.

I’ve been thinking about this recently, because in all these years of working with parents in the U.S. raising bilingual children, I’ve noticed that most fall into three main bilingual parenting types. If I were on the Happier podcast, I would ask you to decide which of these you would answer “yes!” to:

  • 1. Do you want to speak Spanish at home with the kids but haven’t quite gotten started? Is your bilingual parenting theme song “I Have a Dream” from Tangled (“I have a dream, I have a dream… Like everybody else, I have a dream.”)? Do you and/or your partner speak Spanish, but your kids don’t (yet)?
  • 2. Do you have a family language plan that your family is on board with? Do you speak plenty of Spanish at home already? If bilingual parenting was a high-school graduating class, would you be voted “Most Ambitious”?
  • 3. Do you live a Spanglish life and speak Spanish when the mood or inspiration strikes? Do you follow your kids’ lead and speak whichever language they’re speaking? Did you speak more Spanish at home when they were younger, but now mostly speak English?
READ ON TO FIND YOUR BILINGUAL PARENTING TYPE:

If you picked #1: You are LA SOÑADORA. Your kids aren’t currently bilingual but you can envision a reality in which they are, and you might need a little help and guidance to get there!

If you picked #2: You are LA EXPERTA. You have a genuine passion for raising your kids bilingually and you know exactly what to do and how to do it!

If you picked #3: You are LA AVENTURERA. You go where the day leads you, linguistically speaking. You have an idea of what you want to achieve, but sometimes life leads you down a different path. You’re great at following your intuition but might need some structure to make sure your kids hear and speak plenty of Spanish!

What do you think? Did any of these resonate with you?

This theory is a work in progress, so let me know if you felt one of these is your type and if so, which one!