A SECOND LANGUAGE......WORTH IT?

 As parents we struggle to take care of the basics things every day at home with the kids: homework, meals, sports, referee for sibling fights, instrument lessons / practice, etc. Once you add a job and keeping the house clean, who has time to think of a second language? Most people likely feel that one language is more than enough with so many other things to take care of on a daily basis. As my brother stated to my parents when he was around 8 years old living in Venezuela and not wanting to learn English - "why do I need to learn English? everyone I know speaks Spanish". Little did he know then that he would end up going to college in the United States and the English my parents "forced" him to learn was very helpful.
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We strive to give our children the best education possible and as many tools as we can to help them be successful adults. A second language can be one of the greatest gifts you give your child. Even if you are not able to teach them enough for them to be fluent, the exposure to that language will still provide  benefits (www.spanishforbabiesandtoddlers.com/blog/thinking-about-introducing-a-second-language-to-your-child-here-are-some-reasons-why-you-definitively-should).  Parents may think that the tedious work of exposing their child to another language may not be worth it but many do not know that a lot of the benefits gained do not require for the child to become fully fluent. Better attention and focus, improved memory, increased ability to learn another language later in life, improved communication skills, improved brain efficiency, and improved problem-solving skills are among many of the benefits of exposure to a second language. ​

Besides the obvious advantages of speaking a second language such as being able to communicate with so many other people, becoming more marketable in the job market, potentially making more money and having more opportunities in general, some of the "hidden" benefits mentioned above are just too great to ignore. All of those benefits can have a significant impact in all aspects of your child's life.
No matter how difficult it may be to "squeeze" yet another thing into your already crazy life, introducing a second language is something that you should strongly consider as it is a gift for your child that will keep on giving the rest of their lives.

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