Inside a bilingual first-words book: a cat and a bird with Welsh and English words

Raising a bilingual baby: what actually helps

If you are raising a baby with two languages, you have probably been given a lot of advice, some of it contradictory. The good news is that there is no single correct method. Children all over the world grow up with two or more languages, in many different family set-ups. What they have in common is simpler than any method: they hear each language often, from people who matter to them, in everyday life.

Three common approaches

One parent, one language. Each parent speaks their own language to the child. It is easy to explain and gives the child a clear link between a person and a language. It works best when the parent with the home language spends plenty of time with the child.

Home language at home. The whole family uses the home language in the house, and English comes from nursery, school, friends and the world outside. Because English is everywhere in the UK, many families find this gives the home language the best chance.

Times and places. One language at breakfast and bedtime, another at weekends, or one language at grandma's house. This suits families where both parents speak both languages, or where a strict rule would feel unnatural.

Many families mix these, and change as the children grow. That is fine. Choose what you can keep up without strain, because consistency over years matters more than the label.

What matters most: how much they hear

Children learn a language from hearing it used with them, often and warmly. A few words here and there are lovely, but they are not enough on their own to build a language. If one language is heard much less than the other, it will usually develop more slowly, and that is normal.

In the UK the home language is almost always the one that needs help, because English arrives by itself. Small, regular moments add up:

  • Talk through ordinary routines in the home language: nappy changes, bath time, getting dressed.
  • Sing the songs and rhymes you grew up with. Repetition is exactly what babies like.
  • Make video calls with grandparents and relatives part of the week.
  • Find other families who speak your language: a Saturday school, a church or community group, a parents' chat.
  • Read together in the home language, a little every day.
Two pages of a Greek and English first-words book: η γιαγιά, grandma, and ο παππούς, grandad, each with a real photograph
Grandparents are often a child's strongest link to the home language.

Where books fit in

Books give you words you might not use in daily conversation, and a calm, shared moment to say them. For babies and toddlers, the best first books are simple: one clear picture, one word, and plenty of time to point and name. Read the home-language word first, then the English, and let your child set the pace. Going back to the same favourite pages again and again is not boring for them; it is how they learn.

A note for grown-ups printed in English and Greek side by side
A short note for grown-ups, in both languages, so everyone reading knows how to use the book.

Be kind to yourself

There will be weeks when English takes over, when you are tired, or when your child answers you in English. None of this means you have failed. Bilingualism is built over years, not days, and every song, story and conversation in your language counts.

Further reading

  • Bilingualism, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
  • Bilingualism, Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, children's speech and language therapy

Want to see how our books work at home? Download a few free pages in your family's language, print them or flick through on your phone.

Back to blog