There almost always comes a time when our children refuse to speak to us in Spanish. Once again, I heard someone say what I've heard many times: "I'm tired of them not speaking to me in Spanish, so I'd better speak to them in English to save myself the time of arguing with them."
Of course, that's the easiest way to help our children get their way. It happens to me a lot, but even if they don't respond in Spanish or speak in a jumbled way, I persist even if it seems like a monologue. It only takes a minute to look them in the eye and slowly repeat what we're trying to say.
These days, my oldest son decided to write certain sentences in Spanish on his own. For him, it's like a gift to Mom because he always feels happy and proud to show me his achievements. I always tell him that we still have a lot to improve—our accent and grammar—but we'll do it little by little over the holidays. The important thing is to always praise and motivate them with things they like. In my son's case, he likes cartoons and Mario Bros. 🙂
So... let's find something they like, talk about a favorite topic, and you'll see how quickly they'll pay attention and even make an effort to express it to you in Spanish. Try it, but don't give up. Stay strong, and sooner or later you'll see good results.
And you? How often do you speak to your children in your language? Do you mix English and Spanish?
At home, we speak more Spanish than English, and one of the things I try to tell my sons is that we should communicate in Spanish at home so he doesn't lose his parents' language! Thank you.