5 Reasons why I love seeing my daughter learn to speak two languages

Every day, I get to witness something quietly amazing. I love this tiny human who’s like a little female version of her father, but with my eyes! And on top of that, I get to watch her language skills unfold in real time. It’s endlessly fascinating! When I think about why I love seeing my daughter learn to speak two languages, it’s not only parenting pride or sweet toddler moments. It’s about the joy of observing early language development “in the wild”!

I’m a language nerd through and through, and watching this little person explore bilingualism, playing with sounds, structures and patterns in two languages, is my happy place! Raising a toddler abroad isn’t always pretty, but it’s full of curiosity, linguistic puzzles and those brilliant “aha!” moments. I probably would’ve loved this phase even if we were monolingual. But the bilingual speech development? It’s a bonus layer of fun!

Here are five reasons this process captivates me:

1. It connects her to our family and culture

She can already communicate, in her own delightful toddler way, with both sides of our family. Her nanny and her “Grandank” (as she says), her uncles, aunties and cousins, whether they’re in England or Germany. It means the world to me that we’re making it possible for her to build these relationships from day one. Through language, she’ll not only stay connected, she’ll grow to understand the mentality and culture that shaped us.

2. She’s growing up with multiple worlds

Even at two, she instinctively senses who understands what. She adapts, switches, and invents – sometimes mid-sentence. I see her absorbing the idea that communication isn’t one-size-fits-all. And for a kid who’s still mastering verbs? That’s impressive. Even when she doesn’t have the right word, she finds a way, like with gestures, synonyms, even invented words. That kind of flexibility is a superpower in any language. At some point, she’ll start choosing words to shape how she sees herself. Right now, she just wants to be understood; but I already see those early sparks of agency.

3. It’s a linguistic playground

We’re not analysing grammar together (yet 😉), but I find it endlessly fascinating how her little brain is processing all this information and making sense of it to communicate effectively. Her code-mixing is creative, not chaotic. “Nighty Gute!” and “banana ist fertig” aren’t just cute – they’re language experiments. What researchers might call ‘translanguaging’, we just call breakfast! Honestly, it reminds me of all the hours I spent wrestling with German textbooks – and how glad I am she’s absorbing this early.

4. It’s a gift for life

She may not realise it yet, but this bilingual start will give her a lifelong head start. Bilingualism has so many benefits! I had to learn German through school, university, and daily trial and error with a husband who mostly speaks dialect. Giving her this foundation now means she won’t have to fight her way into fluency like I did. That’s something I’m really proud of.

5. Our whole family is learning along

Unexpected bonus: her language journey is brushing up everyone’s skills. My husband’s getting better at English, my parents are picking up toddler-level German phrases – all thanks to her! She might be the smallest in the family, but she’s turning out to be our most entertaining language teacher.

Curious about – or deep in the thick of – raising a little language explorer? Get practical tips, bilingual facts and playful ideas straight to your inbox: 💌Click here!