3. Bilingual children end up mixing the two languages.
Mixing languages is both inevitable and harmless. But to some unfamiliar with bilingualism, it's proof that the child can't really tell the languages apart.
Most children who are raised bilingual do resort to mixing as they sort out both languages. In addition, one of the languages often has a stronger influence on the child than the other. Kids who have a smaller vocabulary in the minority language may draw on words from the majority language as needed.
Experts agree that mixing is temporary. Eventually, it goes away as a child's vocabulary develops in both languages and he has more exposure to each one.
In actuality, bilingual speakers of all ages mix their languages (also known as code-switching). A perfect example is the widespread use of Spanglish (mixing English and Spanish) by Latinos in the United States.
"Sometimes people do it because they don't know a word they need in the language they're speaking," says Pearson. "Some people mix on purpose because they like the word or phrase in the other language better."
Children model what they see and hear, so if your child lives in an environment in which mixing languages is the norm, expecting him not to do so is unrealistic.