Bringing up bilingual
A friend of mine recently referred to the way my 3-year-old daughter speaks as Creole. It a great way of describing it: she speaks an absolute mixture of French and English. Phrases like “Can you s’il te please tirer my culotte” (please pull up my undies) are very normal in our household and it is so cute I don’t want it to change! But it won’t last; she is quickly learning to differentiate her two languages.
In our household I try to only speak English at home and the children are exposed to French at school and with their friends. I myself grew up with a French mother, and an Irish father but spent my childhood in Germany, so I grew up speaking English, French and German. I actually now have a bit of an accent in every language I speak! As a child I really did not enjoy coming from a multi-lingual family as I felt I was different from my friends. My girls have the great advantage of going to an inner-city Paris school where a huge amount of the kids speak at least two languages, if not more.
So now that I am trying to bring up my kids bi-lingually myself, I have done a bit of research. I am not an expect in anyway, but here are some of the facts I thought were interesting:
- Being bi-lingual or tri-lingual has nothing to do with intelligence, people of different levels of intelligence are multi-lingual.
- Children start differentiating between languages around the ages of 2-3.
- Bi-lingual children do not usually learn to speak later because of learning different languages, as previously thought.
- One of the simplest approaches towards having bilingual children seems to be the one-parent/one-language approach. It is easier for a child to differentiate a language if one person speaks one language consistently to them.
Voila! I am really interested to hear if anyone else has tips and ideas on how to bring up kids with several languages!
- Emilie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Win! Broer&Zus outfit of choice!• Julia Eccleshare’s top ten book list
• Top Ten Book Lists
Win! A $1,000 shopping spree at Gilt Kids
Are you familiar with Gilt?! It is THE place to go for great daily bargains and discounts on top designer brands and products. Their Baby & Kids section offers fab discounts on children’s fashion, accessories, toys, and other really cool things you suddenly want to buy the minute you spot them. It’s absolutely addictive and exciting, this bargain hunting (especially for children’s products!) — I could easily spend hours on that site just snatching up deal after deal!
Anyway, we’ve teamed up with the fantastic US-based children’s shopping portal, Tada! Shop, and Gilt to offer a $1,000 shopping spree at Gilt Kids. That’s $1,000 to spend on already discounted products. Just imagine how far that money will go!! Enter to win here. Good luck!
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Autumn craft — A not-so-scary spiderweb• Two-in-one Parka from Bibaloo
Polar Bear Cam
Have you heard of the live polar bear cam? My girls and I are obsessed. I read about this on the BBC website and we spent the entire evening last night watching a few polar bears play around with each other — in real time via webstream.
A web camera observing polar bears was set up on the edge of the Hudson Bay, close to the town of Churchhill, in a spot where polar bears are waiting for the ice to form on the Hudson Bay so that they can travel further North. The Polar Bear Cam delivers a live feed and is being watched in schools all over Canada and by anyone who wants to watch.
My mind can’t quite get round the fact that, while I am drinking my cup of tea in Paris… half a dozen polar bears in the tundra of the far North of Canada are hanging out and playing with each other, and I am watching it live!
- Emilie
Ten tips for decorating children’s rooms
We were recently asked by Caos Magazine to create a list of tips for decorating children’s rooms… and while we certainly aren’t experts, we felt we had a few good ideas up our sleeves. Check out our ten tips here. And please feel free to leave us comments with any other good tips we may have forgotten!
(Image is from Esther’s daughter’s bedroom. Tip #6 — use your child’s clothing as decoration!)
-Courtney
The Truth About Trying
A friend recently told me about this amazing feature of video blogs on Redbook called “The Truth About Trying“. I thought it was a fantastic way to personalize and put a face to the issues that many women silently face. Whether you have ten children, one child, or in the midst of trying for your first – the struggle to conceive is a difficult and emotionally taxing journey when it does not work out as planned. Thought I would pass along and give praise to Redbook for helping to bring light to an often closely guarded subject.
-Dina
(Image from Redbook)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Bloesem Gift Guide 2010• Some MOR pampering please!
• In the mood for Yellow
Courtney’s five favourite posts
How fun to look back at the past year of posts! It always reminds me how much I really do love our blog. As usual, it was really difficult to narrow down a list… but here are five of my favourites from the past year:
- Three children is perfect (for us) because I share the feeling completely, and because Esther so eloquently writes about a sentiment every mother must feel, no matter how many children they have.
- Cabbage and Flea – nicknames for children because it’s so funny to hear all the names we call our children!
- Made by Joel it aint because it reminds us to stop trying to be perfect and that craft projects should be fun for the kids to do, rather than perfect for adults to admire (and I love that Brooke Reynolds left a comment making us all feel better about her reputation as being ‘perfect’).
- Nettle Quiche because HOW COOL that you can eat stinging nettles! (And we made this dish for Easter this year and it was DELICIOUS!)
- La Parisienne because Emilie gave me that book for my birthday, and I have since bought about ten copies as gifts for other girlfriends. It’s the perfect little ‘bible’ of all things chic.
Pink ribbon, and breast cancer awareness month
My mother died of breast cancer. Emilie’s mother died of breast cancer. Steph’s mother died of breast cancer. I have a friend, a mum of 2 small children, who’s fighting breast cancer. The stories of breast cancer that surround us are raw and real. One in eight women will get breast cancer — some stories end happily, some end sadly. Breast cancer gives us scars — if not on our bodies, then in our lives.
What can we do? First of all — we all know that early detection is the best protection. So make sure you check yourself regularly. Next to that, be supportive of friends and relatives who are diagnosed with breast cancer, and their friends and family. Also: donate. There is still a lot to learn about breast cancer and how to cure it. Money is needed for research and awareness, and much needed support. You’ve probably heard of Pink Ribbon: you can donate from their website here using PayPal. It’s easy and 100% safe. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month — donate NOW! I just did.
xxx Esther
P.S. And of course this weeks Top Ten is perfectly pink for the occasion!
Take advantage of our Special Deals!
Did you know that every month we have a whole host of great shops offering exclusive deals to Babyccino Kids readers?! So many cute items at 15 to 25% off… like the alphabet poster from L’Affiche Moderne, the adorable knitted dolls from Dents de Loup, the new baby alpaca hoodie from Waddler, the little wooden Holztiger animals from ACME Party Box Company, the Love Pillow from Sisters Guild and a ton of cute animal cuddles from Hektik Boutique!
Take a peek at our Special Deals page for all the shop listings. And be sure to sign up to our monthly newsletter to receive announcements about new and exciting deals!
Get our travel tips and give us yours at Gogobot!
Want to know what I thought about the London Eye? You can read my review on Gogobot here.
Gogobot is a newly launched social travel site which offers personalised travel tips and recommendations via your social network. It works like this: you sign up and then add all your Facebook and Twitter pals to join your network, and then you can share and read travel tips from all your friends… which means that you’ll get the kind of advice and reviews you can trust, rather than something written by a stranger far, far away. Not only is it a great way to get travel tips and plan your next journey, it’s also an easy way to keep a log of your travels so you remember where to go the next time you visit. We’ve already signed up and written more than 80 reviews on more than 25 cities!
Check out our profile here. And if you sign up to Gogobot by Friday, October 7th, and start following us, you’ll be entered into a sweepstakes to win £150! Just sign up and start following us (that’s it!)… and you could be the lucky winner!
-Courtney
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Children’s Photographer Emily Ulmer• Inge Van Den Broeck at I Dream Elephants
Hello from Haarlem!
Hello from Haarlem… Where??? I’m just down the road from Amsterdam. I’m so excited about becoming a member of the Babyccino Kids team. I have a very hard act to follow though — it’s a bit daunting joining the girls! I have been reading Babyccino daily ever since its debut back in 2007 and love the mix of things they passionately write about.
Currently, I’m in countdown mode for our big move back down under to New Zealand at the end of 2011. We’re down to less than one hundred days left — eeek! I’m looking forward to sharing all the great things Auckland, New Zealand has to offer, and in the meantime I hope I can share some cool things about life in Haarlem.
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• London shopping guide for Small Magazine• Cute, cool and practical. The DRIA cover.
Introducing Steph!
My friend Steph originates from the other side of the world (New Zealand), but we met at an international playgroup here in Amsterdam after we both moved here from London. She’s a stunning girl with the most beautiful head of hair you can imagine (and her kids inherited it! So lucky!). Steph has inspired several Babyccino posts in the past (remember this cute play house? Or this great cookie recipe?) — she’s super creative and sews and bakes the most wonderful creations. She is also very funny! So we’re very happy to introduce her as our new Babyccino Kids contributer… for now writing from the Netherlands, but very soon from Auckland NZ!
xxx Esther
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• London shopping guide for Small Magazine• Cute, cool and practical. The DRIA cover.
Brooke Reynolds’ Rules of Dinner
Brooke Reynolds, mother extraordinaire from the much-loved Inchmark blog, recently offered up her rules for family dinner over at Dinner A Love Story, and I was so inspired by her rules and her reasonings.
I don’t know about you, but dinner in our house usually goes something like this… ’Quin, take another bite…Ivy, eat your food……Easton, use your napkin, not your sleeve!….Ivy, scooch your chair in….Quin, eat your dinner!…Easton, clear your plate… etc.’ Dinner in our house is hardly a peaceful family time. In fact, I recently told my husband that it was my least favourite part of the day! I always feel like a broken record, saying the same thing over and over, constantly on edge and unable to enjoy that we’re all sitting around the table together.
After reading Brooke’s Ten Rules, I’m feeling inspired to make an effort. I love Rule No. 2 that ‘The Table is a Safe Place’ where only nice things are said (siblings don’t bicker, parents don’t lecture). I also like rule No. 8 to ‘Play High and Low’ where everyone tells the high and low point of their day. When I was growing up we did something similar: we all had to say one thing we did that day and one thing we learned. It made for interesting conversation! And lastly, I like rule No. 3 of ‘No Distractions’. Do you allow toys at the table? I need to be more strict about this — I find that toys are so distracting and give kids an excuse to zone out into ‘play time’ rather than family eating time.
Anyway, I’m feeling inspired. I’m going to try to make dinner a happy, more peaceful time in our house (fingers crossed!). What about you? Do you find dinner to be stressful? Do you have any other tips for making it more enjoyable? I would love to know!
-Courtney
Read, Subscribe, Tweet, Follow…
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LMNOP Magazine
If you aren’t already familiar with LMNOP Magazine (and their great website and blog!), then now is the perfect time to check it out. Their latest issue is devoted to the world of children’s books, a subject so many of us are passionate about. They’ve compiled a well-edited list of must-read books for children under five, as well as their top picks of new releases. I love their book-themed fashion section with children dressed as book characters! Find Iggy Peck (my son is going to flip when he sees that he can actually dress like Iggy!), Freckleface Strawberry, Eloise, and others… Also check out their ‘Paper Dahls’ section by artist, Jayme McGowan, with beautiful paper doll figures of some of Rhoald Dahl’s famous characters. So cool!
-Courtney
Babyccino Kids on Daily Candy!
Have you seen?! We’re on Daily Candy Kids today! Such an enormous thrill for us to be included on their site. Check it out here, and find a selection of picks to get you window shopping! Thank you Daily Candy for featuring us.
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Win! Play-Doh Fun Factory• I Dreamt I was a Dinosaur
• A week devoted entirely to BOYS!
Thank you!
It’s been a week since we launched our new shopping portal, and we’re only just starting to breathe again! After many months and months of hard work, we were really sweating the launch, like we had thousands of ants in our pants. But thankfully it all went well (and we didn’t lose 3 years of content or something scary like that)! A few words of thanks are in place we feel.
First of all, a big thank you to the great boutiques who trusted us enough to dive in deep before the launch. We know the whole concept was hard to grasp before we went live and we are so thankful to the one hundred shops who had the faith in us.
Thank you Petite Alma for the beautiful designs, and for helping us structure the idea. Thank you Kat, thank you Kirby. And thank you Sergiu Baluta for the fool-proof programming. You rock!
Thank you, dear blog friends, for the great articles:
@ Design Mom: we love red shoes too. Thank you.
@ Bloesem: so glad you’re taking part with Kids Wear Neon. Thanks for the sweet post!
@ KLT works: Thanks for the great write-up! We’re thrilled to have you there too!
@ Coosandahhs: Thank you for that great selection. We want more, please!
@ Urbanmums: You really said it so perfectly well!
@ BozAround: We love how you call it ‘the future of online shopping’. Wish we had thought of that!
@ enfantmoderne: Merci!
@ babble (and Jordan Ferney): thanks for the mention — Jordan we love your new design! Gorgeous!
@ The Mother Huddle: Thanks, Destri!!! Hope to speak soon!
Lastly, but not leastly, we would like to thank you, dear readers, for putting up with these changes, and for supporting us throughout.
Love,
Courtney, Emilie, and Esther
(Cute ‘Thanks’ card is from Egg Press)
The countdown has begun!
We’re dying with nerves here. In just a few hours, our new website will go live! Like we said last week, Babyccino Kids will become a shopping portal with a selection of the world’s best and most interesting children’s boutiques.
We’re starting out with a little over 100 wonderful shops, and we hope that we’ll be adding more gems very regularly. Of course we’ll also keep working on our wonderful blog — you can still expect two inspirational posts a day!
Please wish us luck — and please let us know what you think when you check back in tomorrow. Oh, and DO tell all your friends and family about this — think twitter, facebook, email, write (you know, with a pen), fax, post pigeon… Actually, also tell people you don’t know about it; we’re sure every busy mum is dying to find out! Wouldn’t it be great if we can make this a big success together?
Thanks so much for your support!
xxx C, E & E
Curious?
In only 4 days we’ll be launching our shopping platform!! We’re super busy behind the scenes to get everything ready.
For the next few days we’ll be sharing little bits and pieces of it on Facebook. Check in regularly! (And maybe you would like to ‘like’ us too?)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Non-toxic baby teethers• Sweet for Baby: Natur-elle soft baby booklet
• The Ergococoon
Exciting news! (and changes ahead)
We have something exciting to tell you… No, no-one is pregnant, but it did take about 9 months to develop! Next week, on the first of June, we’re launching a new website. It will be a shopping portal, where we’ll present to you a selection of our favourite online children’s boutiques!
We feel that the last year or so, online shopping has become so much better. Payment systems are easy and trustable, shipments (usually) arrive, and the variety of shops is great. And it is just so easy for us, busy mums, to sit down behind our computers after the kids are in bed and to browse our favourite boutiques for some fun (and necessary) shopping!
It can however be a bit tricky to find the best boutiques. Search engines don’t select quality, just quantity, and sometimes the best boutiques are hidden under pages and pages of, well, less interesting choices. Over the past years we have been working with loads of great boutiques, and we’ve invited them to become a member of our portal. Of course it will be a work in progress — we will be adding new and exciting shops all the time, but we’re starting out with a very handsome selection already. We’re already addicted!
So… stay tuned. We’re finishing everything up in the coming week, and next week on Wednesday… We’ll go shopping together!
Esther, Courtney and Emilie
P.S. Don’t worry — we’ll keep the blog, it won’t change it all!
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Capturing your baby’s hands and feet• Sweet for Baby: Super soft, stripy Mini McGee blanket
• Gittabags
La Petite Magazine
If you aren’t already familiar with La Petite Magazine, I suggest to take a peek at their newest issue to discover the world of everything extraordinary. The online magazine is filled with inspirational fashion trends and decor tips, plus beautiful photography and illustrations. The current issue includes an homage to the ’70s and ’80s — how cool!
I think my favourite bit is always the interviews of people in the children’s world — it’s so fun to get a glimpse into the lives of other inspirational mums… which is why I was so flattered and thrilled to be invited for an interview! You can find my little interview Q&As in this current issue (pages 172-173). Hope you enjoy!
-Courtney
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• A good maternity swimsuit from Blossom• Jane Reiseger’s gorgeous murals
