Consider bilingual benefits for kids

When I first arrived in Atlanta, I realized that many Hispanics could not communicate in Spanish. I found it alarming that community leaders, executives, entrepreneurs and high-achieving students whom I had to interview as part of my reporting preferred doing interviews in English, because they either didn’t know Spanish or else didn’t “feel comfortable” speaking it.

I often found myself wondering: How is it possible that these people’s parents didn’t force them to learn another language?

Now that I am a mother and I have three school-aged children, I understand the challenges faced by parents who have children born here in the United States and want them to learn Spanish.

There are several scientifically proven models to cultivate multilingual speakers at home. In those homes where both parents’ native tongue is Spanish, the suggested strategy is that both parents speak that language in the home, and the child speaks English outside the home.

For Priscila Rivere, whose three daughters are perfectly fluent in both Spanish and English, this strategy was successful. “In my home there was no discussion. When my girls were little, we never gave the alternative to speak English at home; even the movies and television shows we watched were completely in Spanish.”

In other families where one parent speaks English and the other speaks both English and Spanish, experts recommend following the same model: Spanish at home, English elsewhere.

But in multiracial households, where one of the parents is Latino and the other is American, the obvious strategy is “one parent, one language.”

That’s the type of household in which my cousin, Roberto Bastidas, who is now a politician, grew up. As a bilingual adult, he says: “It’s very hard for me to speak to my mother in Spanish and speak to my father in English. I simply talk to each one in the language that they each spoke to me and my sister.”

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Spanish use at home is more widespread — and has been more stable — among immigrant Hispanics than it has been among U.S.-born Hispanics.

However, while 67 percent of Hispanic families born in the United States spoke Spanish at home in 1980, in 2013 this number dropped to 60 percent, reported the Pew Hispanic Center.

Some families have resisted this temptation. Such is the case of Linda Perez, whose two children are bilingual. “For me the key is to take this challenge seriously and be very dedicated. Raising bilingual children is hard work. You have to be willing to require them to speak Spanish as much of the time as possible, and that they speak it well. I think it’s also key to make them see why being bilingual is important,” said Perez.

My hope is to give my children that amazing gift of becoming completely bilingual and enjoy all the benefits that learning a second language can have in their lives.

Anybody can become a victim of crime at any time, so you need to be ready. So says Lt. D’Andrea Price, commander of the Atlanta Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit. On July 23, Price and some city employees, as well as dozens of vendors, will be giving tips on how to keep from becoming a victim at the Neighborhood Watch EXPO at Atlanta City Hall. Demonstrations will focus on a range of issues, from self-defense techniques to gun safety to door and window locks. Atlanta Fire and Code Enforcement will be on hand offering ways to keep you safe at home. The free event is geared toward Atlanta residents but open to the general public.

What are you trying to accomplish with these kinds of community events?

Bridge the gap between our community and the police. We have so many people who are afraid of the police for whatever reason. They may not trust the police and we have a duty to acquire that trust again. Because of recent news events, some people lump all police in with a few bad apples. We also have people who care about their communities and would like to work with the police but are scared of retaliation.

What can people expect from the EXPO?

We are bringing people together to see exactly what crime prevention looks like. A lot of people learn visually and this is the perfect concept. We have