M Is For Music, Miscellaneous, and Mondays!

Posted by Multilingual Mama

I’ve decided that for the month of December I will try to blog much more often. I’ve been told having thematic days helps the brain focus content so here’s what I’ve come up with:

Mondays will be Musical Mondays. Since it is December, I am opting for Christmas-themed music -Falalalala! Pretty original I know. I had hoped to persuade people to send me their favorite kids’ tunes but I’ve come up a little short so I may have to use some grown up favs as fillers. I am also open to suggestions!

And since it’s December and I feel like ’tis the month to slack off, my children will be mostly playing. I will be mostly ignoring my homeschooling duties. They already set the tone today by totally ignoring me and kicking me out of various rooms while they set up elaborate play scenarios.

So with more time on my hands, I am shunning productivity in order to bombard you with lots of miscellaneous stuff on Mondays…or any other day of the week I so choose.

1. Awesome Acts of Kindness Calendar

I just discovered this lovely calendar; see their terribly smart badge on the left hand side.

I’ve done December 1&2 today. Plenty of time to catch up so pls join and spread the word! (Preferably via my blog post as it’s Christmas and I’d love some new followers. I promise I’ve kept the naughty to a minimum.)

And in an extra act of kindness today, here are links to all the songs. I believe blogs are penalized for too many outbound links but hey, it’s Christmas and I am in the mood for some giving!

2. My kids’ favorite Christmas songs this week

Monday: The Peanuts Classic Christmas Tune. This is mommy pushing her own likes . No one is perfect.

Tuesday: You are a mean one Mr. Grinch. Seriously, they flip out when they hear it.

Wednesday: Disney Princesses 12 Days of Christmas – what happens when you leave your children alone with an iPad. They fight to have their cheek touch the princess image. #smh

Thursday: The girls make me sing Jingle Bells relentlessly. I usually pull up this version with Andrea Bocelli and the Muppets. I find it fun to change tempo with the girls and who doesn’t want to watch Animal sing! Thanks Fozzy, I too wonder what on earth bob-tails are.

Friday: Petit Papa Noël. This is a favorite in our household. Failing to find our lovely version but here’s a nice clip where you can follow the lyrics.

Saturday: The all time favorite: Santa Claus is Coming to Town. This isn’t their favorite version, but it will be when I am done with them. (oh and he parler francais a bit here too!)

Sundays: Silent Sundays, because we all need a break from Merrys and Happys and Joy.

Tune in tomorrow for “How Halloween saved my Christmas” and a very late submission for a lovely series on Neighborhoods around the world.

Happy Thanksgiving: I Am Thankful For You.

Posted by Multilingual Mama

It’s been a long, slow, and hard trip back into writing since I started occasionally pecking away at my keyboard back in 2010. The one thing that has kept me on track is you. Knowing that you come to my site and read my posts, when I manage to actually get something up, is a guaranteed ray of sunshine.

Those of you who comment or like the posts, well heck, that’s a rainbow!

I am trying to write more these days. I hope you won’t find it too much. I am honored and I am grateful to have you as my readers.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was and continues to be my favorite holiday. It felt like the perfect time to say thank you!

Wishing you all the best,

MultilingualMama xx, who has yet to master the un-strained selfie.

S is for Santa. Right, More Like Stasi.

Posted by Multilingual Mama

Have you listened closely to the lyrics of Santa Clause is coming to town?

It’s not so pretty. I had a choice to make. I could cut this song out of our Christmas repertoire or I could capitalize on it.

Here’s the thing. I am half French half American. And this puts me in a difficult position. On the one hand, many people expect my kids to be well-behaved. I mean I am half French right? Everyone knows, thanks to Pamela Druckerman, that French kids are the example to which we should all aspire.

On the other hand, full-blooded French people look at my kids, waiting for them to misbehave.

Aha! That tantrum! Surely that is because you caved. You didn’t stick to the cadre – you are just one of these American parents, easily manipulated by your kids, who confuse self-esteem and creativity with letting kids run wild and boss you the adults around!

Yes folks, most Europeans expect, as a general rule, American kids to be brats. They may not tell you this straight to your face, but I assure you it’s true. They will compliment your kid’s ‘free-spirit’ and ‘independence’. These are thinly veiled terms for ‘you have no control’. But I digress. What I am trying to say is that I am feeling the pressure from both sides of the Atlantic!

What does Santa have to do with all of this? Santa, when I am tired, is an extremely effective parenting tool. One with a terribly limited shelf life so best to ‘consume’ while you can.

I love the holiday season, not simply because I can justafiably (yes I am aware this isn’t a real word) remain sozzled while pulling out my maternity pants and indulge in all things rich and calorific. I love it as I’ve got my kids’ full attention when I talk about a special elf-like secret police and the battles melt away like cotton candy on a toddler’s tongue. Readers note: I don’t buy into elf on a shelf. What!? Am I supposed to carry that thing from room to room? Also, I’m in a rental folks, I don’t make holes in the walls for shelves and/or elves as a rule!

Though I use Santa year around, he is most effective post Halloween.

Acting up at Dinner… watch out Santa’s watching.
Won’t get undressed for shower time – Santa’s making a note.
Refuses to take my bra off her head? He’s got his eyes on you.

Creepy, yet the girls lap it up.

This year I got a little more creative. The girls watched The Rise of the Guardians. In this movie, Santa is this fantastic Russian character, with tats and all. He also has a big globe with red lights indicating where the kids who believe in him live. When questioned by P as to how Santa can really monitor everyone, I said something along the lines of ‘the lights start to blink slowly when a child misbehaves, increasing in speed the longer they take to listen to parents.’

I can stop unwanted behavior in 2 seconds flat by simply saying ‘light blinking’ and flicking my finger up and down.

There are moments, where I ponder whether it would be better if I stuck to my ‘French’ methods, enforcing boundaries, time outs, etc. rather than creating a culture of fear. But then, it won’t last for long, and with Santa watching, Mama has more time to put together all that holiday cheer and pour a nice Christmas-colored glass of wine.

Merry Merry everyone!

(PS. Santa if you are really watching, can I please have anyone of those Pointer Sister dresses? Bring back the bouffe!)

Speech Development: Keep Calm, Your Toddler Will Talk

Posted by Multilingual Mama

Keep calm, you kid will talk.

I know it doesn’t feel that way. I know when faced with your kid’s precocious eighteen-month-old friend who is already stringing sentences together and using words with more syllables than you can manage after another-sleep deprived night, you will feel like you have failed.

This happens to all parents mono or multilingual, though those trying to raise multilingual kids are often actually subtly –or not so subtly– accused of bringing this on themselves. (Which, for the record, is supported by zero research. But who needs research these days?)

The nasty voices that never seem to go away will be haranguing you:

It’s your fault, you shouldn’t have gone back to work.

You should have spent more time describing every small detail like: watch mommy unscrew the cap on the tube of Preparation H – that’s hemorrhoid cream. Now squeeze the tube and apply a small amount to your index finger. See my index finger? And then gently rub…I’ll leave you wondering whether it’s for sagging eyes or sagging innards.

I shouldn’t have stuck her in front of Baby Einstein when I was showering, cooking, walking the dog –yes walking the dog but I assure you she was well strapped in.

You suck as a parent.

Did you really believe you could bring up a multilingual kid? It’s your fault, forget all the studies that say a kid will just develop speech when they are ready and listen to the uptight mother at the Pediatrician’s office who simply ‘knows’ your kid is still stuck on mama and bye-bye because you speak another language to her.

You should have read more, talked more, jumped up and down in a hoop while juggling pacifiers…

You are just innately stupid as you have long suspected and now that is manifesting itself in your offspring.

I am hoping your voices aren’t nearly as vitriolic as mine. I spent hours perusing websites, buying books on encouraging speech, learning sign language, and of course keeping a positive face in front of all of those wondering why my kid still barely uttered a few words.

And then it happened. She started talking. The floodgates opened and I sat, immersed in the tidal wave of words, elated –for about 48 hours before the very awful thought crept into my mind”

My God, when is she ever going to stop? She is the Duracell bunny. She just keeps talking and talking and talking and talking and talking…

Careful what you wish for.

Keep calm, your kid will talk. And then they will never shut the f*%$ up.

This post was written for October’s Raising Multilingual Children Carnival, hosted by Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes. It will be going live Monday October 28th. Please check out all the wonderful submissions. Of course, had I been organized and realized this month had a specific topic, you’d also find my post there. Of course, you won’t. Welcome to my world.