How to make your kids keep up to speak hometown language & eat hometown food?

[Anonymous]

Paid good money and applied months and months early to get DS a spot in a home daycare where the main provider was bilingual and made food from her culture some days. It's not a language a lot of home daycare providers around here speak, either.

[Anonymous]

As a child of immigrants, I agree that forcing the language at home will help. My parents didn’t do this and although I’m still fairly good, I wouldn’t say I’m fluent anymore. As for the food, it’s hard. Growing up we usually preferred eating “American” food but still enjoyed our own, as this is what we normally ate. Now I prefer both and make both types for my kids. Ironically, my kids love our country’s food, sometimes even over American, so it forces me to learn cooking them a lot more.

[Anonymous]

It’s your nephew. Talk to your sibling, if you feel it’s your place.
A 2year old find anything different yucky. My DD Can and does understand her grandparents in their native language perfectly, even if she doesn’t speak it.

As far as food, she finds most of the foods I made last week that she devoured “yucky”, and that’s being 2.

OP, I think it’s great when kids know their roots, but you’re not the “hometown” police. Your sister and her partner get to decide. If you have nephew, feel free to eat “hometown” foods (even if he thinks they’re yucky). Speak in your language, put on cartoons, whatever. But you don’t get to decide for your sister,

[Anonymous]

Korean American here. My parents always spoke to me at home in their language. We always ate Korean food at home.

DH is Chinese American. Our mixed kids only speak English. Our kids all love Asian food - Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai. They also love Italian, Lebanese, Indian, Mexican, etc. they enjoy steak, lobster, shrimp and crabs.

Just keep exposing your children to your food. Some kids are just picky eaters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was born in this country, but was dismayed when DS at 3 learned about pizza rolls and white bread at daycare!

He also discovered when he was around 10 that malls and certain entertainment venues existed where we lived and we had never told him

np Don't you think dismayed is a bit of an exaggeration? If it bothers you so much find someone who eats and speaks the language you want. There is nothing wrong with pizza rolls and white bread within moderation. The kid is American so why wouldn't he learn American things

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do t get anything to drink unless you pronounce it “wooder” and we have cheesesteaks once a week.

— Philadelphian

[Anonymous]

It's pretty cruel to move a TODDLER to a new environment and expect that he will not adapt to that environment. What is wrong with you?

If you want your child to know the "home town" culture, raise him in that culture.

[Anonymous]

I know a couple of families who sent their kids to Saturday school in the home country language (once they were school age). Wanting to keep him fluent in the language- I totally get.

But with food, if it’s healthy, why does it need to be all or mostly from the home country? Most American kids, at least around here, are exposed to & eat food from many different countries/cultures (Chinese, Thai, Ethiopian, Mediterranean, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty cruel to move a TODDLER to a new environment and expect that he will not adapt to that environment. What is wrong with you?

If you want your child to know the "home town" culture, raise him in that culture.

From the OP it sounds like toddler has been living here all along but this is the first time he is in daycare and exposed to English and American food.

[Anonymous]

Any fun cultural events? Stories, books? Help them to understand it as fun and special. Community of peers is also helpful.

[Anonymous]

It takes a lot of commitment and persistence from the adults at home.

Basically only allow media in that language and the parents force the child to speak correctly in that language.

They should do that NOW before the kid has homework which needs to be discussed in English, as well as too many playdates

My teens speak and write well enough to be fully understood, but everyone can tell they are "foreigners". They often use a stilted syntax which comes from translating from English, and don't have a perfect accent.
They have been going to our weekend language school for years, but we have not been as consistent as we should have been at home. Word to the wise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It takes a lot of commitment and persistence from the adults at home.

Basically only allow media in that language and the parents force the child to speak correctly in that language.

They should do that NOW before the kid has homework which needs to be discussed in English, as well as too many playdates

My teens speak and write well enough to be fully understood, but everyone can tell they are "foreigners". They often use a stilted syntax which comes from translating from English, and don't have a perfect accent.
They have been going to our weekend language school for years, but we have not been as consistent as we should have been at home. Word to the wise!

Me again. In spite of a lethal nut allergy for one of my children, we never had trouble with international cuisines. They like everything. The 3 year old might just be in a contrary phase - that, or he's a true picky eater, which takes some years and a lot of patience to work through.

[Anonymous]

The kid is 3, who is in charge? Send food from home to daycare, stop speaking english to him, it's not important. He won't learn your language by watching a cartoon, it needs to be consistent at home.

[Anonymous]

Keep speaking to the child only in your native language, and keep serving only native food. He has to eat something. She can't force him to answer in the native language, but as long as he understands everything, he will easily be able to speak it if he needs to (I speak from personal experience, although honestly I wish my parents had forced me to answer in their native language). Also, as soon as he starts reading/writing (K or first grade), make sure he has weekly language lessons so he can learn to read and write the native language as well.

[Anonymous]

The advise on here would be so much better it it was OPs child...but it’s not. It’s their nephew.