My husband and I speak English together. He also speaks English with the children. The children and I speak Dutch together.
'At home, we speak a mixture of English and Dutch: Denglish.'
How old is your child/are your children?
3 children, 16, 17 and 18
What languages do you speak at home?
Dutch, English and Denglish
Who speaks which language and what is your background?
My husband and I speak English together. He also speaks English with the children. The children and I speak Dutch together. We have a New Zealand group of friends and when we are together we mainly speak English
What is the reason you are raising your child(ren) multilingually?
My husband did not speak Dutch very well in the beginning. We also felt it was important for family in nz to be able to communicate with the children.
Do you have a funny anecdote you want to share?
Sometimes someone wanted the children to speak English because they thought it was cute. But they were very adamant about that: they only wanted to speak English to people who did not speak Dutch.
Would you advise other parents to teach their child(ren) multiple languages? If yes, why?
Only if 1 of the 2 is fluent in the other language.
What tip would you give to parents who are also considering teaching their child multiple languages at an early age?
Keep speaking your own language consistently. One of our sons refused to speak English for a while. If my husband asked something, he answered in English. Now, 12 years later, he is the one who can express himself best in English.
Are there any other things you would like to share with us about multilingual parenting?
In the end, we now speak a mixture of English and Dutch at home: Denglish. But we understand each other well!
About Nathalie
My name is Nathalie. I am Dutch and married to Joe from New Zealand.
Recent articles
About jungle the bungle
With Jungle the Bungle's app, children aged between 2 and 8 can learn a new language in a very fun way. Why so young you might ask? Young children in particular learn a new language very easily.
Download the app
EN 
NL