Children can learn two or three languages at the same time without mixing them up in any harmful way. A child mixing words from both languages in the same sentence is normal and passes. What matters is how much your child hears and uses each language, and that each language has a clear place: a person, a setting or a situation.
A kitchen table in Kista, Tuesday evening. Dad speaks Bulgarian, Mum Swedish, förskola (municipal preschool, from age one) Swedish, Grandma on a video call Bulgarian. The two-year-old says: mama, iskam mjölk. Everyone understands. Is it a problem? No. That is what multilingual children sound like at two, and in three years she will choose her language by who she is looking at.
How children learn two languages
Children who meet two languages from birth, or before about the age of three, learn them simultaneously, roughly the way a child learns one language, but with two sets of words and rules built in parallel. Children who meet the second language later, for example when they start förskola, learn it on top of the first, and that goes fast at that age. In both cases the same thing applies: the brain manages it without effort, but it needs raw material. Speech, books, songs, play, conversation. The amount and quality of what your child hears decides how strong each language becomes, and the language that gets the most time becomes the dominant one. Which one that is can shift several times while they grow up.
Does my child mix the languages up?
This is the question almost every multilingual family asks, and the answer is no. Children mixing words from both languages in the same sentence is called code-switching, and multilingual adults do it all the time, consciously or not. A small child uses whichever word is closest to hand. If your child says agua instead of vatten, it is not because they think agua is Swedish, but because that word came first. By three to four, most children choose their language by who they are talking to, and the mixing decreases. Do not correct, and never scold. Repeat the sentence in your language, as a reply, and move on.
Methods that work
| Method | How it works | Suits when |
|---|---|---|
| One person, one language | Each parent consistently speaks their own language with the child | The parents have different mother tongues |
| Home language at home | The whole family speaks the home language, Swedish outside the home | Both parents speak the same language, which is not Swedish; Swedish comes from förskola |
| Time or place | One language at dinner, at the weekend or at Grandma's | One language needs more time than it gets naturally |
| Language through someone outside the family | A nanny, a relative or mother-tongue support speaks the language | The parents do not speak the language fluently, or want to give the child a third language |
Common worries, and what is actually true
- Will my child start talking later? Sometimes slightly later in each individual language, but within the normal ranges, and if you count the words in both languages your child is usually on a par. The same warning signs as for all children apply, see When do children start talking? Language development from babbling to sentences.
- Will their Swedish suffer? No. Swedish comes from förskola, school and friends and is the language that almost always ends up strongest over time. It is the home language that gets lost if nobody keeps it up.
- Should we switch to Swedish at home to help our child? No. Speak the language you know best. A rich home language with nuance and emotion gives your child more than a parent's broken Swedish. And the ability to learn languages transfers: a strong first language makes Swedish easier.
- Our child answers in Swedish even though we speak our language. Very common from three to five. Keep going. Answer in your language, do not demand answers, create a need for the language through relatives, travel and books.
- Förskola. According to the curriculum, förskola should help children with another mother tongue to develop both Swedish and their mother tongue. How much that amounts to in practice varies hugely. Ask at your child's section. See The Swedish preschool curriculum, explained for parents.
- School. Pupils who have a language other than Swedish at home may be entitled to mother-tongue tuition. Apply through the school; the conditions vary a little between municipalities.
What keeps the home language alive after förskola starts
Until förskola, the home language is often the strongest. Then it turns, and from three to four it is the parent's persistence that decides. What works is not force but access:
- Books in the language. Stockholm's libraries have children's books in many languages, and Internationella biblioteket (the International Library) can order more. Read every evening.
- Songs, films and audiobooks in the language, within the limits of screen time. If your child is going to be in front of a screen anyway, let it be in the home language.
- Video calls with relatives who only speak the language, regular and short. Your child discovers that the language is needed.
- Other children with the same language. Playgroups, associations, religious communities, neighbours. Children speak the language their friends speak.
- Travel to places where the language is spoken. Two weeks at Grandma's does more than a year of nagging.
- One person outside the family who speaks the language with your child every week. A nanny is one of the few ways to get regular time in the language with someone who is not a parent. See A nanny in another language and English-speaking nanny in Stockholm.
Multilingual children who struggle with language
Multilingualism does not cause language disorders, and a language disorder shows in all of a child's languages, not just one. A child who is behind in Swedish but on a par in the home language does not have a language problem; they have had less Swedish. A child who is behind in both should be assessed by BVC (the child health clinic every family is enrolled in) and if necessary a speech therapist, who should assess in both languages, with an interpreter if needed. What you should never do is drop one language to make room for the other; it reduces your child's total language without helping the one that is weak.
How we do it with our families
Our team speaks Swedish, English, Bulgarian, Spanish and Arabic, and a large share of the enquiries we get are about language. Aleksandra speaks Bulgarian with two children in Järfälla whose mum is Bulgarian but whose dad does not understand a word; he gets the same note as everyone else, in Swedish. Doaa reads Arabic books to a four-year-old in Rinkeby who prefers to answer in Swedish, and carries on in Arabic anyway. That is the point of the same nanny every week: four hours a week in one language, year after year, is more than most children get from mother-tongue tuition at school.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week and who your children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out a price for your hours.
Read more: When do children start talking? Language development from babbling to sentences · A nanny in another language · English-speaking nanny in Stockholm · Prices
Frequently asked questions
Will two languages confuse my child?
No. Children keep languages apart earlier than adults think, and you can see it in the way they choose their language by who they are talking to as early as two to three years old. Mixing words in the same sentence is not confusion but a way of using their whole vocabulary. Multilingual adults do it too.
Do multilingual children talk later?
Some studies show a small delay in each individual language, but if you count the words in both languages together, multilingual children are usually on a par. The ranges for first words and two-word sentences are the same, and the same warning signs apply: no words at 18 months or no two-word sentences at three is something BVC should look at, whatever the number of languages.
Should I speak Swedish with my child even though it is not my mother tongue?
Speak the language you know best and feel most at home in. Your child learns Swedish at förskola and from the world around them, and broken Swedish at home is a poorer language model than a rich mother tongue. You can of course mix some Swedish into everyday life, but let the home language be your main language with your child.
My child only answers in Swedish, should I give up?
No. It is very common from three to five, when Swedish takes over through förskola and friends. Keep speaking your language, answer in your language even when your child answers in Swedish, and create a need: relatives who only speak the language, travel, books, a nanny who speaks it. The understanding is still there even when your child does not speak, and it can be woken up.
Can my child learn three languages?
Yes, if each language gets enough time and a clear place: a person, a setting or a situation. Three languages means each language gets less time, so the third is often weaker. That is not a problem, just something to know. Prioritise the language that has the least support outside the home.