Spanish Splash:  Being Bilingual Makes You Smarter…Not Just Friendlier, More Global-minded, and Better Prepared to Get a Job

Dora, Diego, Handy Manny, and Rosita…From Nick Jr. to Disney Jr. to Sesame Street…everywhere that you look on children’s television there seems to be an explosion of characters speaking Spanish and teaching Spanish vocabulary to young children (or even other languages such as seen on Ni-hao, Kailan).  I even saw an article in a recent pop culture magazine talking about how celebrities like Sandra Bullock is enrolling her adopted child in an international school so that he can become trilingual!! Why?  What’s the big deal with this new “language fad” anyway?  Why should I introduce my toddler or my preschooler to Spanish…this is America, right?  We speak English here, right?  My toddler is having a hard enough time learning to speak English properly, right?  Won’t Spanish (or any other language) just confuse him/her?  WRONG!!! WRONG!!!  WRONG!!!  WRONG!!!  WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

Early childhood is actually the best time to learn a second language according to current brain research.  From birth until the around the age of seven, the human brain is best able to learn and replicate a variety of sounds.  Think of the brain as having a bunch of different windows inside of it.  One of those windows is a “Language Window.”  At birth that” Language Window” is wide open and your brain is receptive to learning any language and its sounds.  That’s why children who grow up in bilingual or multilingual families from a very young age can learn to speak in more than one language with ease.  Our human brains are designed to absorb and learn language early on much like a sponge.  However, if you try to put an older child in a bilingual or multilingual household, they will have a much more difficult time learning a new language.  By the time, a child reaches age 7, that “Language Window” has started closing.

Here’s another way to look at it:  The human brain is like a fresh can of Playdough! When you first open it (at birth), it’s soft and malleable and you can make almost anything with it.  However, over time (past toddlerhood and early childhood) it hardens and it cracks and it becomes a stubborn hard lump that becomes extremely difficult to mold (i.e. teach a new language), especially if you leave your Playdough sitting out unattended.  Don’t let your child’s Playdough brain get all hard and mushy without first sticking some second language experiences in there!!  LOL

Unfortunately, in most places in our country, our children don’t start becoming exposed to a second language until high school or college.  Not that it is impossible to learn a language at this age, but it is much more difficult to retain and to speak with native-like fluency.  Those of you who have taken a foreign language in high school, how many of you remember much of what you learned after however many semesters of taking that language?  Better yet, how many of you can actually speak the language that you studied?  And for the couple of you that said that you can speak the foreign language that you studied, how many of you can speak with native-like fluency or do you have an accent that distinguishes you as a “gringo” as soon as you open your mouth? Can you roll your R’s like a native Spanish Speaker? Can you make that phlegmy sound in the back of your throat like a native French speaker?   Probably not!!

A recent article in the NY Times states that “Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general)

More specifically, research shows that children who learn a second language:

• score higher results on standardized tests
• develop greater cognitive skills such as creativity and problem-solving
• have enhanced listening and memory skills
• have greater career choices & opportunities later in life
• develop an openness to & appreciation of other cultures

Maybe by now you are thinking, “Well, I want my kids to be even smarter than the little geniuses already are…but I don’t speak another language myself!”  Have no fear!!! There are plenty of language immersion programs available all over the country.  Just use Google to find one.  And if you live in (or near) the Piedmont Triad area (Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem), you can enroll your child today in Spanish Splash, our unique and fun Spanish-Immersion classes specifically designed for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  We are just starting our Spring Session this week and you are welcome to join us.   So don’t wait another day, “Immerse yourself! Splash into Spanish today!”   For more information about second language learning or to enroll in a class, please visit our website at www.playtimegso.com.   Hasta luego!

Keisha Campbell, the creator, owner and director of PLAYTIME! is a NC certified teacher (K-6) and more importantly, a mommy!  She began her teaching career as a bilingual teacher in NYC public schools and since then she has gained over 15 years of experience teaching children of all ages, from infants and toddlers to adult learners.  Keisha received a B.A. from Duke University in a self-designed major entitled Education and Multiculturalism.  Additionally, she has a M.S. in Elementary Education, a NCECC, and is in the final stages of completing her NCECAC.  Keisha speaks Spanish fluently and has lived in, and traveled to, several Spanish-speaking countries including Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, and Mexico.

Today’s post, a birth story, is from one of our local mamas.  Thank you for sharing your story with us

Want to share your birth story on our blog?  Submit it to sheresa@allaboutbabyboutique.com.  We are posting one story a month, to celebrate our mamas, babies, and all births.  We’d love to hear your story!

Kaiya’s Story

My entire second pregnancy (or just about) was a very different adventure than my first. I was much sicker, I craved protein instead of carbs, and I contracted every day from about 8 weeks on.  As my due date got closer and closer my contractions got more and more powerful. I felt teased every single day not knowing if they were turning into the real thing or not.

On February 13, I started having much more intense contractions starting right when I got up, but they were very infrequent and didn’t last long. Toward evening they picked up some speed, maybe every 5-7 minutes lasting about 50 seconds…not that I was counting.  I knew I wanted to get some rest, so I took some Bach’s Rescue Remedy, a warm shower, and got into bed. It was hard to sleep, but I did rest between contractions, which had slowed to be about every 10-15 minutes. I was using my breathing techniques and relaxation techniques that I had worked so hard on the past 9 months. I felt great.

By morning, I wanted to get the show more on the road, and I felt like sitting around at home wasn’t going to cut it. So we took Toren to preschool, Erik moved his work schedule around, and we hit the grocery stores. We walked every single aisle at two very large grocery stores and my contractions starting being pretty intense and coming every 4-5 minutes. I used my techniques I’d practiced and the walking made it bearable. Even when we got to the car, I’d have Erik pull over (when possible) so I could walk out each contraction. I even walked at the parking lot at one of Erik’s dealerships where he needed to stop. When we reached home, they were about 1-2 minutes apart and lasting a pretty long time.  I called the midwife to come.

I was going to try to make lasagna so that I could keep moving through my contractions – sitting still made them a million times worse. However I couldn’t even get the ingredients out without having contractions I had to work through. So I decided to go ahead and get in my bathtub for some relaxation (I hoped). My contractions did slow (though they were just as intense) when I got in the tub, and Erik had to go pick up Toren from school, so I was alone until the midwife arrived.

I welcomed the time alone to center myself. I was really feeling like I couldn’t do this much longer…I was trying to find a more comfortable position when I heard a knock on the door. I soon realized Erik had accidentally left the front door locked. I waited for the current contraction to pass and then I called the midwife. I had her check for another door and eventually got her in. She came in and I told her how discouraged I was feeling…how this was a dumb idea to think I could do this…and that I knew I was probably only 3 cm with days of labor left to go. Erik arrived home with Toren but I didn’t want Toren coming in and making me close up, so the midwife asked Erik to keep Toren away from me and to get him down for his nap.

I started getting the shakes and feeling nauseated. I was just so down. I got out of the tub for a change and the contractions that ensued were back to back. This entire time I had been calm during my surges – counting, singing, breathing, visualizing, etc. When I got out of the tub I definitely started the traditional moaning you hear laboring women do. I was really getting disheartened and I was so tired.  I told the midwife I just wanted to lie down and rest a while. So I got in my bed and peacefully slept for about 5 minutes. Then I woke up to a doozie of a contraction. It felt different than other ones. Then all of a sudden, midcontraction, my belly pushed!!! I honestly had zero control and there burst my water!

The midwife was shocked. She didn’t think it was very likely I was at this stage because of how lucid and calm I was. She started scrambling to get set up and called the assistant midwife to come stat! We got Erik from Toren’s bedroom. After 37 minutes of pushing, Kaiya was born with her hand presenting with her head! 9 lbs 1 oz and a hand! And I did it!!! Before I could even pick her up I looked at the midwife and said – I did it.

I held her on my chest and she was pink and breathing easily. She promptly peed and pooped.  After a few minutes we checked to see if she was a girl or boy. Erik made the discovery. We were delighted! It took us about 45 minutes to settle on a name.

I can’t believe she was born after only 4.5 hours of active labor. The birth was so gentle she didn’t really even cry. She started getting sleepy around 4 (she was born at 2:37),  so Erik held her while Toren looked on, and I took a shower.  Toren had amazingly slept through the whole thing and had just woken up to join us. What a surprise for him!  Then I snuggled down in bed with my new little bundle. No IVs, no pushy doctors, no epidural, no unneccesary meds, not even one exam. Kaiya came in her own time and way (hand up!).  Not to mention no NICU!

I really wanted to accomplish this and I did. I love how this all turned out. I don’t necessarily feel like superwoman like some people do post partum…but I do feel so empowered to have accomplished a goal I’d worked so hard on for so very long. A goal I came very close to giving up on.

I’m a new mama in my late 20′s trying to find the balance between being a career woman, mom, wife and daughter. It’s not easy, and  something has to give. In my opinion, my relationships are not optional. So what gives?

The answer remains to be seen, and I invite you to read along on my journey through motherhood.

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