Questions about how we raise our kids in four languages. If you could go back and do something differently, what would you do? Christina Shang asked me this in other very interesting questions the other day. My kids are now two and five years old and are growing up simultaneously quarterlingual. Some gebo-stock feedlings. There is one thing that I would try to do differently. If I could go back in time. Coming up next. Hmm. Not much to be honest. I think my husband and I gave our children a great start in terms of language input. The methods that we chose to use and the strategies that we developed have worked out very well until now. Many ways our kids have surpassed our expectations and that makes us very proud. They are developing four languages simultaneously and are making great progress in all four of them. But there is still one thing I would try to do even more if I could go back and that is reading more often books without pictures. Just read books while the children do something. Hmm. That's what I would try. I would age if ever do you plan to leave German outside the house for good. Before I answer this question, if you don't know me yet, you might want to check out these videos first. Now back to the question. I don't plan to leave German outside this house ever. That would be a last good. German is a doorway to very bright minds and valuable knowledge. My goal is to learn to use it without replacing it with Spanish. Now that our name speaks with the kids in German, I have reduced the usage of the OSOL method. Check out the video if you don't know what I'm talking about. But once my children go to school, they might need more support in German again. So do you plan to find Spanish or Danish-speaking caretakers after a certain age? Spanish and Danish are our minority languages. And I expect German and Swiss German to become stronger, even dominant once my kids go to school, since that is the majority language. If we feel at some point that we can't provide them with enough quality input in Spanish and Danish, I will make sure that we travel more often and for a longer period of time to our native countries. German is a very powerful tool that can work wonders in kids that need more exposure to become confident in using a certain language. I wouldn't look for a Spanish and Danish caretaker because it's again a new person they would have to connect with. Instead I would look for ways to make the relationship stronger between our kids and the grandparents and other family members that use those languages. When you visit your family in South America, does your father speak to your children in Swiss German or in Spanish? My father speaks with my kids in Swiss German the same way he speaks and has spoken to my brother and me since I can remember. I think he is and has been a very good role model because through him I learned how powerful the O-Pol method can be if used well. If your family moved to Denmark, would you ask your husband to speak Swiss German with your children or what would you do? No, no, no, no. My husband's native tongue is Danish. He learned a bit of German in school and improved considerably his Swiss German skills once he moved to Switzerland. He is fluent in Swiss German now but he is still working on it expanding his vocabulary, improving his grammar and pronunciation and so on. His relationship with the kids is already well grounded in Danish. It would be weird to change the language at this point I think. It's not impossible but for sure not ideal. Besides he would never agree to that. If we moved to Denmark at some point, we would make sure to visit Switzerland in Ecuador as often as possible and would find a caretaker for example a Swiss or at least a German O-Pair. An other option would be to put them in an immersive German school. I would make sure that they don't lose their Spanish. Switzerland is a very multilingual country. How do you think your children would react to languages differently if you lived in Ecuador? I have to admit that living in such a multilingual place as Zurich makes things easier. For my kids it is normal to be multilingual because there are plenty of other kids that also grow up with two, three, four or more languages from all over the world. Also as you mentioned Switzerland is a multilingual country. The population speaks French, Swiss German, Italian and or Romance. But believe it or not, when I grew up in Ecuador I also experienced being multilingual as very natural, a normal thing. Being bilingual was the norm, although knowing any other language than Spanish in English was already quite exotic. What would you and your husband do if your children began to hate the indian only speak Spanish or the opposite? Well we would have to review our strategy to figure out why the child is rejecting the language. Kids tend to refuse to use a language when they haven't had enough quality exposure or have had negative experiences linked to that language. I would probably look for ways to let my child have more positive experiences with the language combined with an immersive program probably. In 20 years, how would you react if your daughter or son were raising their children monolingually? Would you fight with them? Hmm, good question. I think it's their life. Therefore their choice. Kim and I do what we think is best for our kids with the resources and the possibilities that we have. I'm sure our kids will choose what is best for our grandchildren when that time comes. Our job is to support whatever path they take, I guess. For now we concentrate on being good role models, good parents. What kids experience while growing up has a deep impact on the individuals they become. And ultimately on the choices they make. What do you think? Would you act differently? Tell me in the comments section. I would love to read your comments. Please hit that like button, subscribe and book a free intake call with me if you would like me to give you a hand with your personal multilingual situation. Thank you for joining me on this video called questions about how we raise our kids in four languages. Watch my other videos to get more useful support. This was Multilingual Family. Keep on doing a great job and talk to you soon.