kids not allowed to speak English at home..... (pre-school, master, students)

[smokemaster]

Is this abuse, neglect, stupidity, or culture?

[macroy]

IMO - It's simply culture. My family was like that when we first immigrated here. Kids pick up language extremely fast, so I had no problems assimilating into American culture. But my parents wanted to make sure I stayed connected with my Chinese background. They felt that it would give me an advantage later being bilingual.

And that advantage would be realized today if my line of work was applicable.

[GottaBMe]

See it a lot on the west coast. I think its a cultural thing.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by smokemaster

Is this abuse, neglect, stupidity, or culture?

What would make you think abuse, neglect, or stupidity?

Here in FL it is common for hispanic parents to speak Spanish at home. The kids learn English outside the house and are truly bi lingual for life. They don't have a first and second language, they have 2 first languages. At a very young age these kids can speak both English and Spanish AND THEY CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

IMO it's great for kids to grow up that way.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by smokemaster

Is this abuse, neglect, stupidity, or culture?

It's a wonderful way to ensure bilingual children.

Most of my friends who are *truly* bilingual to a native level grew up speaking a different language at home than in their country, be it English in Mexico or Germany, Spanish or Japanese in the US, Yiddish in Canada, etc. Kids can go to preschool or elementary and pick up the language of their home country in a month or two without much extra instruction.

[StarlaJane]

I completely disagree. I think "forcing" children to speak another lang in the home is abusive, the same way that punishing students for speaking a second lang at school used to be punished and was considered abusive. A child should be able to speak whatever lang he/she feels comfortable with (especially in the home), and should be encouraged to speak a second lang, not forced.

[auntieannie68]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

What would make you think abuse, neglect, or stupidity?

Here in FL it is common for hispanic parents to speak Spanish at home. The kids learn English outside the house and are truly bi lingual for life. They don't have a first and second language, they have 2 first languages. At a very young age these kids can speak both English and Spanish AND THEY CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

IMO it's great for kids to grow up that way.

----it's a wonderful thing --heads up to all cultures that still keep up their language at home

[suzie02]

Originally Posted by smokemaster

Is this abuse, neglect, stupidity, or culture?

For us is because we wanted our children to be able to communicate with their grandparents. There is no forcing involved. We just spoke Spanish to them from the time they were born. Our dd picked up English in pre-school. Our ds will do the same next year.

Originally Posted by StarlaJane

I completely disagree. I think "forcing" children to speak another lang in the home is abusive, the same way that punishing students for speaking a second lang at school used to be punished and was considered abusive. A child should be able to speak whatever lang he/she feels comfortable with (especially in the home), and should be encouraged to speak a second lang, not forced.

I disagree. I have met so many children who could be bilingual but they aren't because the parents spoke to the children in the language they preferred. To me it is the same way we make our children eat vegetables or wear a coat in the winter.
Abuse would be if the children were beaten to comply.

[Ketabcha]

I learned to speak Spanish from my godparents who would speak only Spanish to me. They spoke perfect English but they wanted me to learn Spanish. I learned it and I'm eternally thankful for it.

[Cigarboo]

I sure wish my parents forced me to speak another language at home when I was growing up. Learning it as an adult is so much harder. learning English as a child is pretty much automatic when they start school. The only kids/adults that I know who are fluently bilingual are the ones that grew up speaking both languages. My husband is bilingual and he would not be as successful in his current job without being fluent in both languages.

For folks who think English is all you need, that's fine and in most cases it'll suffice. For those who are considering introducing another language to your child or are fortunate enough to have access to another language, I think it can only benefit your child as they grow up. Being fluent in another language doesn't mean your English skills get worse.

So no, I don't think it's abuse. I'm assuming forcing means just speaking to children in the native language or hauling them to a language school the way I haul my children to piano and nag them about practicing. Now if they are beaten to comply than that's a different story and yes, I would consider the beatings abuse.