Mothers' language choices have double the impact in bilingual families

New research shows that mothers have twice the impact on language exposure, challenging traditional parenting advice. In a new study, researchers found that there wasn't a single strategy that could be singled out as 'best' to raise a child bilingually. But when they looked at parents' language use individually rather than the family's overall strategy, they had an unexpected and striking finding: mothers had up to twice the impact on language exposure compared to fathers. They believe these findings will have real-world impact for policymakers, health-care workers and professionals who closely work with and give advice to bilingual families.

New research shows that mothers have twice the impact on language exposure, challenging traditional parenting advice. In a new study, researchers found that there wasn't a single strategy that could be singled out as 'best' to raise a child bilingually. But when they looked at parents' language use individually rather than the family's overall strategy, they had an unexpected and striking finding: mothers had up to twice the impact on language exposure compared to fathers. They believe these findings will have real-world impact for policymakers, health-care workers and professionals who closely work with and give advice to bilingual families.

Read more https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241210163406.htm