10 Ways to Ensure Your Kids Retain Your Language and Culture

When you enter your twenties your social media profiles start to show signs of adulthood like marriages and pregnancies, which only rapidly increase as your thirties draw near. It seems like everyone you know is either getting engaged, married, divorced, remarried or having kids. And, if you are having kids, how do you make sure that they keep their culture? How do you get your kids to speak your language?

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When you enter your twenties your social media profiles start to show signs of adulthood like marriages and pregnancies, which only rapidly increase as your thirties draw near. It seems like everyone you know is either getting engaged, married, divorced, remarried or having kids. And, if you are having kids, how do you make sure that they keep their culture? How do you get your kids to speak your language?

Here’s ten ways to ensure your kids keep their culture.

1. Read! Read! Read!

Talking to your child when they are babies is fundamentally important to their growth. So why not pick a book written in your mother tongue? Read them the books when they are young and get them involved! Say a word to your child and have them repeat it back. Point to an object and have your child tell you what it is.

2. Walk and Talk

You can kill two birds with one stone here. Talk your kids on a walk and point to objects, ask your kid to name to object. These objects can be anything from rocks to trees, cars to animals. Tell them what it is and praise them for saying it correctly.

3. Sing Along

Car rides are the perfect place to play songs in your language. Break the song down, explain the song line by line to your child. Sing enthusiastically and encourage your child to do the same. Sometimes your kids will get tired and sleep which is fine. Play the music in the background, their subconscious will take note.

4. Movie Madness

DVD’s can be your best friends. This can require a little more work but if you’re willing to invest the time, your children will feel your excitement and will want to watch movies from your culture. Bring a couple of movie options home, let your child pick the movie, and then play the movie with subtitles. If your child can’t read, translate line by line so they understand what’s being said.

5. Pack a lunch

One of my favorite memories as a child was bringing a Tiffin box to school. I had delicious dal, roti, and vegetable dishes. My parents taught me how to eat with my hands and the name of all the dishes so I could teach fellow classmate how to eat and what they were eating.

6. To Be or Not To Be

Get involved with your child’s education! As a child, I was the guiding star in a play about Jesus. My parents also made sure that we had a Marathi play in which every classmate and teacher had a role, wore kurtas, saris, or salwar kameez. The story was explained to each child, Marathi words were taught and everyone went home with goodie bags of Indian food.

7. Sunday School

Pick a day of the week, invite families from your cultural group over, have each family bring over a dish from your culture. Then dedicate one hour to teaching your children and their friends how to write your language. Pick a letter from the alphabet and explore animals with that letter, foods with that letter, names of objects with that letter.  After that hour, enjoy the dishes you’ve cooked and make sure to speak at least partly in your language.

8. Cultural Parties

Make each holiday a big deal! Take the time to make sure you acknowledge and explain the significance of your holidays to your kids. Have a cultural party! Plan each party with a theme, invite families that speak your native tongue, have everyone cook a dish that’s labeled and have them explain the significance of the dish.

9. Play Dress Up

Whatever your traditional clothing is, dress your child in those clothes when you send them to school. You should also wear those clothes! Explain to your child what you’re wearing, where the clothing comes from, how their friends can also wear your clothes. The more comfortable your child feels in your traditional clothing and is familiar with the names and how to pronounce them they will want to speak your language!

10. Attend Cultural Events!

Find your local cultural chapter and take your children to events the group puts on. Have your kids participate in dances, plays, skits, and contests the group puts on! Encourage them to express themselves through creativity. Have gods and goddess drawing contests.

There are a couple of things to remember about helping your children to keep your cultural identity and ensuring they speak your mother tongue. One of the key things to remember is to never force your children to learn. You can encourage them but once learning becomes a chore then they will not want to learn. Your child should never feel coerced to the point they hate the language. A family friend once told us he used to slap his child’s hand if he didn’t speak the language. Although the child can speak the language he isn’t too fond of it.

Another thing to remember is that the level of interest your child has in keeping their language is dependent on you and your enthusiasm. You are the role model. The degree to which you participate in your child’s learning will fuel their desire to learn and will ultimately instill a strong sense of pride and self-identity.