Do you trust the environment?

How quickly we forget the many miracles that took place the 9 months we carried our offspring in the womb? There within that safe environment cells divided, the brain and spine took shape, limbs began to form and the first vibrations of the heart began to pulse out into the universe. What marvels me the most is how little we, as parents, had to do with such a critical period in our kids' lives. Maybe a change in diet, quitting a few unhealthy habits and strange behaviors such as speaking to ones navel.

Lots of peripheral learning!

Nature knows best after all. More often than not we try to think through the natural course of things by adding our 2 cents of conscious rational. We mess it all up; all with the most heartfelt intentions of course, but as I have come to learn over the years good intentions sometimes kill.

One on one time.

Second language acquisition is one of these areas that we try to puppeteer. I think we would be better off sitting back, letting nature runs its wondrous course. In the end it comes down to a basic idea: Do you trust the environment? Thankfully an alternative for the mother's womb has not yet been contrived. We trust it without really understanding it, anxiously awaiting the big day! But do we trust the environment where our kid and his miraculous brain is absorbing a second tongue?

Real life experiences.

Yesterday, in our weekly parent teacher meeting, a concerned mother asked me how much she should worry about repeating vocabulary with her 2 year old son at home. My answer was, "YOU BETTER NOT! No offense, but I won't be speaking Latinized-gringo-infested-mandarin to my sons when they finally get here in August." My wife and I trust that our move to China will allow them to pick up with ease their 3rd language. Just like when they learned Spanish from their cousins, friends and grandparents. The brain has a marvelous magician at work in the upstairs. Make sure to provide the right environment for them to thrive in which Caillou most definitely does. All that is left is to SIT BACK AND WATCH THE SHOW!