Code-switching - or code-mixing. should I be worried?

The short answer is: NO!

Look how clever and sensical the above code-mixing is: this child understands perfectly how both languages work.

But children are like water and will take the path of least resistance.

So if they don't know the word in one language, they will "switch" to the other.

There are many lessons to be learnt from this, and my personal favourite is just how bold children are.

They have a go.

They don't let the fact they don't know a word stop them from communicating.

So our role as adults is to nurture that confidence.

Expose them to more French, so they can fill the gaps.

When your child mixes codes like this, never reprimand them.

Simply repeat the whole sentence back to them in French.

No expectation for them to repeat after you - this is not a scholar exercise after all.

You want your child to continue to trust that they can (and should) communicate with you in whichever language they have available at the point.

So now tell me - does your child do this too?

Any cute examples?

À bientôt,

Florence