A young woman, aged 29, finds herself in a slight dilemma.
Ready to Pop
She is currently 37 weeks pregnant and preparing to give birth to her baby girl.
He Speaks Spanish
Her husband, aged 31, recently reminded her that he wants to teach their baby girl Spanish too.
“But He Isn’t Spanish!”
She isn’t keen on the idea as he isn’t even Spanish himself! He was not born in Spain but lived there from when he was four years old until he was 19.
“He’s American!”
She believes it would make sense if he had some sort of cultural or family connection to Spain, but, as she says, “he is American!”
It’s Not a Joke
He initially suggested the idea when she was around 21 weeks pregnant, but she thought he was joking.
How She Felt
Now that he had brought it up again, she told him how she felt about it.
Too Challenging
She said that “it would be hard for her because they are very different languages.”
Pro-Bilingual!
He started arguing with her, saying that many kids are raised bilingual and are very smart.
She’ll Be Left Out
She feels like it might cut her from her child.
Now, He Is Mad
He is now mad at her for not accepting his preference, and she is now wondering if she is in the wrong. She turned to an online forum to ask the opinions of others.
No Cultural Connection?!
“If he had some cultural connection?! He has lived there for 15 years!” argued one user in the forum. His comment received over 60,000 upvotes. Another commenter added, “Even if he didn’t have a cultural connection, there is no really good reason not to teach a child another language!”
Gatekeeping?
Another user frustratingly said the original poster is in the wrong, “Babies have an amazing capacity to learn things including multiple languages and stop gatekeeping Spanish!”
A Bonding Experience
“Living in a country for 15 formative years is a cultural connection. You don’t have to be born there,” says another forum member. She adds, “Your kid will hate you forever for not teaching them Spanish when you could, and they have to start from scratch at school. Kids pick up languages so easily. Heck, if you don’t want to be excluded, maybe you should learn it too! That’d be a great whole-family bonding experience!”
A Gift
Another user says, “Being bilingual is such a gift! Your child would have such a headstart. It’s a huge bonus on any resume or future career.”
Too Lazy to Learn?
Another commenter said he thinks her husband wants to teach the baby a language that she is too lazy to learn. Another user agrees and sarcastically adds that the original poster “only wants their kid to speak “American.”
No Rationale
Another user wonders why the original poster is so against her learning Spanish. They say, “Spanish is an extremely common language and would be a benefit. The high school my children went to required a second language to graduate, and it’s far easier to teach them young than as they get older. Take advantage of the fact your husband speaks another language and is willing to teach your child. You could ask him to teach you as well!”
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