Multilingual Parenting

Type a word into a translation app, and you get an answer in half a second. So what’s left for a picture book to teach?

You ask a question in Japanese. The answer comes back in English. It happens again the next day, and the day after that — and it’s easy to start reading it as a sign something’s going wrong.

Two kids, same home, same amount of exposure — and somehow, wildly different comfort levels in the family’s home language. It’s more common than it looks from the outside.

Raising a child in more than one language sounds like it should require flashcards, apps, maybe a tutor. Often, the most effective tool is already sitting on the shelf.