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Hisp J Behav Sci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 November 01.
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Hisp J Behav Sci. 2015 November ; 37(4): 503–521. doi:10.1177/0739986315602669.

Raising Bilingual Children: A Qualitative Study of Parental

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Intended Behaviors
Michael Lee1,2, Rashmi Shetgiri3, Alexis Barina1, John Tillitski1, and Glenn Flores1,2,4
1UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA
2Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
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3David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, USA

4Dr.Flores’s current institution at time of publication is the Medica Research Institute in
Minneapolis, MN

Abstract
We examined parental preferences in raising Spanish/English bilingual children. We identified
factors influencing their decisions, and the strategies used to promote bilingualism. Focus groups
were conducted with Spanish-primary-language parents of children 3 to 7 years old. These groups
were audiotaped and transcribed. Three reviewers independently analyzed transcripts for themes
using margin-coding and grounded theory; disagreements were resolved by consensus. Thirteen
Spanish-primary-language parents participated in two focus groups. The results show that parents
wanted their children to be bilingual. Parents also stated that the benefits of bilingualism included
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better career opportunities, and preservation of culture and native language. Family members,
schools, and prior parental experiences influenced the parents’ decisions to raise bilingual
children. Parents preferred English-only school classes and to teach Spanish at home. Strategies
identified for raising bilingual children included reading bilingual books and having children
speak only Spanish at home. Schools and pediatricians are used as resources.

Keywords
multilingualism; parenting; qualitative research; language; young children; bilingual development

Children in immigrant families constitute the largest and fastest growing group of children in
the United States (Toppelberg & Collin, 2010). Approximately 20% of U.S. children speak a
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language other than English at home, with Spanish as the most common non-English
language (Kohnert, Windsor & Ebert, 2009: H. B. Shin & Kominski, 2010; Tienda &
Haskin, 2011). Many of these children are inconsistently exposed to English until they begin

Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

Corresponding Author: Michael Lee, Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines, Dallas, TX
75390-9063, USA. [email protected].
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD, NIH, or
NCRR.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
 Lee et al. Page 2

elementary school (Kohnert et al., 2009). Bilingualism invariably presents itself to children
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as they are exposed to more than one language. Different definitions of bilingualism exist.
For example, active bilingualism is when one person speaks and uses both languages.
Passive bilingualism is where one person is completely fluent in one language but is only
able to understand the other (Vera, 2011). Studies suggest that potential assets of
bilingualism include preservation of native language and culture, academic advantages,
better career opportunities, and promotion of cross-cultural communication (King & Fogle,
2006; Mosty, Lefever & Ragnarsdóttir, 2013). Perceived disadvantages of bilingualism
include potential language confusion and mistaken beliefs that it can cause language delay
(Vera, 2011). Fluently bilingual children have been shown to have high self-esteem, abstract
thinking skills, and academic success (Han, 2012).

Parental decision making about raising children to be bilingual may be influenced by several
factors, including community influences and personal knowledge of languages (Mosty et al.,
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2013; Toppelberg & Collin, 2010; Velázquez, 2009; Vera, 2011; Yan, 2003). In El Paso,
Texas, one ethnic Mexican community maintained positive attitudes toward bilingualism
with English and Spanish languages (Velázquez, 2009). Past views on bilingualism in the
United States, however, have not always been positive, suggesting native language
subtraction as the majority language was introduced (Moore & Pérez-Méndez, 2006).
Parents’ knowledge about language development also influences their interactions with their
children, ultimately affecting their child’s language development (Rowe, 2008). Not enough
is known, however, about parents’ perspectives on raising their children to be bilingual in
Spanish and English in the United States, and the strategies they use to do so (August et al.,
2006; Slavin & Cheung, 2005; Velázquez, 2009; Yan, 2003). In a qualitative study of Arabic,
Chinese, Hebrew, and Spanish-speaking parents in an English-majority environment in Iowa,
the reasons parents gave for maintaining their native language included preservation of
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religion, strengthening family and moral values, continued connection with their native
culture, and economic advancement (Yan, 2003). Limitations of this study included potential
selection bias, as participants were recruited from dual-language schools in which parents
intentionally enrolled their children with the goal of learning their heritage language. The
sample of Spanish-speaking families was small, and data were analyzed for participants
from all language backgrounds collectively, without focusing solely on themes for Spanish-
speaking parents. Another study in El Paso, Texas, which used interviews and surveys with
five bilingual mothers, found that parents’ positive attitudes toward speaking Spanish did not
translate into fostering the development and use of the Spanish language with their children
(Velázquez, 2009). Strategies used by parents in the United States and outside the United
States to enhance bilingualism at home include books, videos, DVDs, television programs,
and music CDs (King & Fogle, 2006; Mosty et al., 2013). Dual-language programs also
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exist; however, information about parental perspectives on these programs is limited.

Little is known about the perspectives of Spanish-primary-language parents on raising their

children bilingually in the United States. The purpose of our study, therefore, was to
examine the attitudes, preferences, and intended behaviors of Spanish-primary-language
parents in Dallas, Texas, on raising their children to be bilingual, which ultimately could
provide new information for the development of strategies to support and foster bilingual

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children. We hypothesized that focus groups with Spanish-primary-language parents would

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reveal preferences and intentions to promote bilingualism in their children.

Method
Two focus groups were conducted with Spanish-speaking parents of children 3 to 7 years old
in Dallas, Texas. Focus-group methodology was chosen because it provides insight into
participants’ attitudes, experiences, knowledge, and motivations within the participants’
cultural context (Kitzinger, 1995). Parents were recruited consecutively over 4 weeks from a
university hospital–based resident continuity clinic where more than 50% of patients speak
Spanish as their primary language at home. Parents were eligible to participate if they spoke
primarily Spanish in their home, were at least 18 years old, and had a child between 3 and 7
years old. Parents were recruited in the clinic waiting room prior to scheduled appointments,
with face-to-face screening interviews with one of the bilingual authors (A.B.), and informed
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consent was obtained. Focus groups were conducted in a private conference room at a time
convenient for participants, and each session was about 1 hour in duration. Each session was
audiotaped, and moderated by one of the bilingual authors (A.B.). A moderator’s guide was
developed using the authors’ clinical experience caring for bilingual children and review of
the relevant, current literature (King & Fogle, 2006; Sakai et al., 2010; Shetgiri et al., 2013;
Vera, 2011). The guide consisted of three primary questions and 17 probes (Table 1). The
domains for the primary questions were advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism,
factors that influence parental decision making about raising children to be bilingual, and
strategies for helping children learn two languages. Sociodemographic information was
collected using an eight-item questionnaire, and each participant received a US$20
honorarium. Because the customary primary aim of focus-group methodology is qualitative
theme identification, it is not considered appropriate to report frequencies or percentages of
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specific themes or item responses (Kitzinger, 1995), and therefore, theme/response

frequencies and percentages were not reported. This study was approved by the UT
Southwestern Medical Center institutional review board.

Analysis
Focus groups were transcribed by a bilingual research assistant who was blinded to the
purpose of the study. Transcripts were reviewed for accuracy by one of the authors (A.B.) by
simultaneously listening to the audio recordings; they were translated into English, and the
accuracy of the translation was confirmed by comparing it with the original Spanish version.
Transcript-based thematic analysis (Bertrand, Brown, & Ward, 1992; Krueger, 1994) was
performed using grounded theory, where new theory was created and existing theory was
modified by comparison with incoming information, to create a taxonomy of themes
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(Denzin & Lincoln, 1994; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Saturation of major themes was
determined to have been achieved after two focus groups; therefore, additional focus groups
were not conducted. Three study authors analyzed the transcripts independently and then
met to resolve any differences by consensus. Theme consensus initially was not achieved in
only a minority of instances (<5%).

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Results
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Sociodemographics
There were 13 participants in the two focus groups. The mean parental age was 34 years;
92% were female (Table 2). All participants self-identified as of Mexican origin, and all
spoke Spanish as their primary language at home. Only 8% of parents reported “good”
English language proficiency and living in a single-parent home. Thirty-one percent of
participants were high school graduates, and 46% had attended at least some college; 92%
reported that their child had a regular doctor.

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Intended Behaviors of Parents Raising Bilingual Children

Table 3 summarizes the nine categories of themes cited by parents.
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Benefits of raising children to be bilingual—Parents stated that bilingual children

would have better opportunities in life; for example, better jobs. A mother said, “It’s very
important that they speak Spanish and English, because they have more opportunities. It
makes the road easier for them.” Another theme was that the United States is becoming
increasingly multilingual. One mother said, “We’re in a country where they speak more
languages”; another parent commented, “One should learn English, as it is the principal and
official language in the United States.”

It also was noted that bilingual children could help their parents learn English. One mother
remarked,

I read to my kids in Spanish, and then I try to read with the English that I know. If
I’m saying a word wrong [in English], even if it’s with the little one, he says “no,”
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and corrects me. We learn together.

Other focus-group comments included that bilingual children offer a different point of view
or perspective than monolingual children, and they are friendlier than monolingual children.

Reasons for teaching Spanish to children—Parents stated that they teach their
children Spanish due to a desire to maintain their native language. A mother commented,
“We need to know our language first and then adapt.” Another parent stated, “For me, it’s
important for them to speak both, first because of work, and second because they are
Mexicans that were born here. They need to speak their language.” Several parents also
stated that monolingual, English-speaking children have difficulty communicating with
monolingual Spanish-speaking family members. Parents are embarrassed when Latino
children cannot speak Spanish. A father reported, “regrettably, there are a lot of people that
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have Mexican parents, and they [the children] look Mexican, and they don’t speak Spanish.”
A mother replied to this father’s comments by saying, “they [children] look ridiculous.” Two
parents additionally said that Spanish is a beautiful and easy-to-understand language, and
that it is important that children learn to speak Spanish correctly.

A concern was raised about the true meaning of bilingualism. One mother reported that her
Latino cousins asked her to read Spanish-language signs in Mexico. She responded by
asking them, “Aren’t you bilingual? Don’t you know how to read them?” and they replied,

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“no, I just speak it.” This conflicted with the participants’ belief that to be truly bilingual,
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children should read, write, and speak in both languages.

Language and culture are intertwined—Several parents expressed a strong belief that
speaking Spanish is an important way to preserve their heritage and to connect with older
family members. By not speaking Spanish, children cannot understand cultural norms, and
may be perceived as lacking positive Mexican values. One father commented,

I have nephews that go to Mexico on vacation and they don’t know Spanish. Their
grandparents are telling them “Son, how are you?” and the child is like “what,
what, what?” When someone comes and says something in Spanish, they just look
at them.

Several parents stated that some children who do not speak Spanish are ashamed of their
parents and culture. One mother expressed the desire to counteract this by building a “strong
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foundation” for her children, saying, “You have to make their foundation strong, to be proud
of where they are from, who they are … and then everything is fine.” One mother also
commented,

On my husband’s side, they raise them bilingual, and on my family’s side, I feel
like they don’t, and I also feel that they [bilingual children] are more friendly, more
likeable, the kids that speak English and Spanish at home.

Decision making regarding raising children to be bilingual—Most parents stated

that they themselves were ultimately in charge of deciding whether to raise their children to
be bilingual. A participant commented, “A lot of parents are different and don’t want them
[their children] to learn Spanish.” A few parents also stated that their experiences with
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previous children helped them decide what to do with their other children. One mother said,
“Since I’ve already raised some kids that are grown now … how I raised them, I’ll raise the
others.” There was a lack of information available to help parents decide about bilingualism.
Conflicting opinions from other family members also played a role. Other sources used to
decide on bilingualism were relatives’ and neighbors’ experiences, school and community
programs about raising children, and talking with school teachers. One parent concluded,
“Well, the environment [decides] where the child develops [and learns language].”

Barriers to raising bilingual children—One identified barrier was the resistance of

children to learning Spanish because it was more difficult than learning English. Teenagers
were uncooperative due to being embarrassed by speaking Spanish, believing it was “un-
American.” Furthermore, one parent stated,
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There are a lot of kids that, when they start being teenagers, they’re embarrassed to
speak Spanish because they have the attitude that, “We are Americans. We don’t
need to speak Spanish to our Mexican parents.” It has a lot to do with how you
raise them.

Exposure to a second language also was believed to cause confusion in children, and the use
of different languages in different environments was seen as challenging to children. A few
parents stated that although resources exist to aid with raising a bilingual child, these

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resources are underutilized. These parents did not explain or further explore why resources
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are underutilized.

Parents’ attitudes about bilingual programs at school—Parental attitudes toward

school bilingual programs were predominantly negative. Some parents believe that it is
difficult to learn to write two languages at once, and that bilingual classes in kindergarten
hinder a child’s language development and learning. One parent commented, “Kids [in
bilingual classes] struggle more to learn English afterward; it’s harder to learn.” An
additional theme was that children who struggle academically should be placed in English-
only classes and have Spanish taught at home. It was considered preferable to start bilingual
classes before kindergarten. Another theme was parental concerns about the quality of
teachers in bilingual classes. They were concerned that these teachers may not be fully
bilingual, and that Latino teachers may have an accent when speaking English, which could
be transmitted to their students. Furthermore, many parents did not report having received
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active counseling or guidance from the school district about bilingual education choices.

Parents’ methods for teaching bilingualism—The location and method for teaching
both languages was important to the participants. Some parents recommended teaching
Spanish to children when they are young and building a strong foundation in Spanish to
prevent forgetting the language later on. Some parents preferred to speak only Spanish at
home and only English at school. Others recommended speaking both languages at home, or
beginning to speak English immediately before starting school to help with the transition.
One parent stated that the choice of which language to speak was up to each child as he or
she grew older.

Most parents from both focus groups had strong opinions about how to teach Spanish. They
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wanted to assume the role as the Spanish teacher and continue to teach Spanish at home as
children grow up. Several parents wanted to personally practice and correct spoken Spanish
with their children, adapting teaching and learning strategies for each child. One suggestion
was to compare and use the same vocabulary words in English and Spanish. The parent
would teach the child a word in Spanish, and the child would teach the parent the same word
in English. A parent stated, “For me, if they learn a word in English, they have to know it in
Spanish. It’s something that’s basic for me. If they say something in English, they should
have already known what it was in Spanish.” Several parents also revealed a desire for their
children to speak to them in Spanish and not allow them to speak only in English at home.
One mother remarked, “I speak Spanish with you [child], you speak English with me.”
Parents recommended teaching children that similar words in Spanish and English have the
same meanings. It was considered acceptable for parents with limited English proficiency to
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use broken English in order to teach proper Spanish. The parents believed themselves to be
the most important influence on their children in speaking, reading, and writing Spanish
well. Parents did not cite use of any bilingual community programs.

How bilingualism affects language development—Several parents stated that

speaking two languages has no effect on their child’s language development, whereas others
believe that there is some initial difficulty with learning two languages simultaneously that
requires some time for adaptation. One mother stated, “My children struggle with two

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languages, but they can do it.” English language media (television) in the home was believed
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by some to be a source of confusion and potential language delay for children. One parent
believed that their child was emotionally affected by the parent’s inability to help him with
English at home.

Two parents commented that developmental delays do not interfere with speaking two
languages. Specifically, one parent relayed that his cousin has Down’s syndrome and is
bilingual in Spanish and English. Another parent stated, “I have a niece that is delayed, and
she can speak Spanish and English.”

Resources for raising bilingual children—Parents looked to a variety of sources for

knowledge and advice about raising bilingual children. Personal experiences, bilingual
families, relatives, and information from magazines, schools, teachers, community
programs, and pediatricians were listed as primary resources for advice. Parents appeared to
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value and trust these resources at face value. Specific tools used to teach children how to be
bilingual included bilingual education in schools, television shows, internet sites, toys,
bilingual books, and pediatric office pamphlets (Table 3). One parent stated,

Information? In magazines, on the Internet. For example, a magazine called Vida

just arrived for me. And it has an article about being bicultural, about how the kids
… about how to make them bilingual, and how they learn as much from one culture
as from the other.

The Es el Momento television show, the Univision television station, and the Ser Padres
magazine were specifically cited by study parents. Schools and libraries were locations to
access these tools. Regarding cartoons, one mother said, “At home, the girl [four years old]
starting speaking English by herself because of the cartoons; she watches only the ones in
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English.” Another mom remarked, “Reading is very important … in one language as in the
other. Reading will be a tool that serves them well. They will be more successful kids with
their books.”

Discussion
This study used focus groups to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and intended behaviors of
Spanish-primary-language parents in raising their children to become bilingual in Spanish
and English. The study findings indicate that Spanish-primary-language parents want to
raise their children to be bilingual, and family members, past personal experiences, and
schools are major influences on their decisions to do so. Parents prefer English-only classes
in school and teaching Spanish at home. Parents use family and friends, bilingual books,
schools, media, pediatricians, and community programs as resources.
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Preference for Bilingualism

The parents in our study identified various benefits of bilingualism for their children,
including economic and career advancement, communication advantages, becoming a well-
rounded individual, and preservation of their culture. This is consistent with the literature
that noted similar advantages of bilingualism (Moore & Pérez-Méndez, 2006; Toppelberg &
Collin, 2010; Velázquez, 2009; Yan, 2003). Historically, societal and school pressures have

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promoted monolingualism in the majority language and encouraged children to lose their
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native language (Han & Huang, 2010; Portes & Hao, 1998). This negative view of
bilingualism also was promoted through discrimination and stigma associated with lack of
English fluency in a predominantly English primary-language country such as the United
States (Linton, 2004; Portes & Hao, 1998). The benefits of bilingualism were thereby
undervalued. More recent studies, however, show that the development of a child’s non-
English primary language spoken at home may increase family cohesion, intimacy, and
preservation of cultural norms, enhancing preservation of the family (Toppelberg & Collin,
2010). Compared with immigrant children who speak only English, immigrant children who
speak both the majority language and their native language are more likely to graduate from
high school and to develop close family and cultural connections, leading to a higher
likelihood of better social and emotional health (Kohnert, 2010).

Although parents in our study identified economic benefits to bilingualism, there is

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conflicting evidence on these potential benefits. Several studies suggest that bilingual
individuals have economic advantages over monolinguals, given the current focus on global
economic issues; other studies, however, indicated that economic benefits of bilingualism
were not superior to those of English-speaking monolingual dominant language speakers
(Coomer, 2011; Moore & Pérez-Méndez, 2006; Oh & Min, 2011; Proctor, August, Carlo &
Barr, 2010; H. Shin & Alba, 2009). Additional study of this topic is warranted to further
examine the association of bilingualism with economic consequences.

Influences on Decision to Raise Children Bilingually

Focus-group participants stated that there was a lack of information available to parents in
aiding them with their decision-making processes for promoting bilingualism. Parents
identified family members’ opinions, past experiences with bilingualism, and school-system
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practices as most influential in their decisions regarding raising bilingual children. Our
findings complement prior research demonstrating that home and school environments are
influential in the learning, acquisition, and preservation of the native language (Toppelberg
& Collin, 2010; Yan, 2003). Multilingual communities also may influence parental choices
regarding transmission or non-transmission of the native Spanish language (Velázquez,
2009).

The parents did not report any specific guidance offered proactively from the school district
to help families with bilingualism education choices. Parents did, however, identify schools
and teachers as resources for raising their children to be bilingual, once the parents had
chosen their child’s educational path. Schools in which the participants’ children were
enrolled offered standard English education and bilingual education.
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Methods for Teaching Bilingualism

Parents in this study articulated a preference to have their children learn English at school
and Spanish at home. They also expressed negative views of bilingual education in schools.
Participants stated that the home should be where the native language was taught, and
preferably, spoken exclusively. Parents also used different tools and methods to help with
teaching bilingualism. These included bilingual books, magazines, and media, such as audio,

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television, and computer-based instruction. The existing research is unclear about the ideal
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timing, method of instruction, and location of the acquisition of a second language (Slavin &
Cheung, 2005). Our study participants expressed a preference for schools teaching English
as the children enter kindergarten or elementary school.

Research documents that children can effectively learn two languages simultaneously,
regardless of their being normal-learning or developmentally challenged (Dufresne &
Masny, 2006; Moore & Pérez-Méndez, 2006; Paradis, Genesee & Crago, 2011; Rowe, 2008;
Westman, Korkman, Mickos, & Byring, 2008). This is consistent with participants’
statements that the presence of a developmental delay does not preclude speaking two
languages. Bilingual children may have enhanced cognitive flexibilities, verbal abilities, and
spatial perceptions, compared with monolingual children (Cappiello & Gahagan, 2009).
Thus, any advice to discourage bilingualism, even among children with a speech delay,
should be reconsidered. Research also suggests that exposure to the majority language is
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unavoidable, and loss of the native language not infrequently can be inevitable; therefore, it
is the native, rather than the majority language which is typically at risk (August et al.,
2006). Our study findings are consistent with studies suggesting that students need early
instruction in Spanish with home support to remain proficient in their native language
(August et al., 2006).

Implications for Health Care Providers

The study results suggest that Spanish-primary-language parents want to raise their children
to be bilingual. Parents view bilingualism as beneficial, and they use several resources to
help guide them in raising their children to be bilingual, including pediatricians. It may
therefore prove useful to provide guidance about bilingualism during well-child visits.
Providers may need to solicit parental preferences and openly discuss bilingualism with
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parents. With young children, in particular, providers can encourage parents to promote the
native language and continue to foster it at home as the child matures. Pediatricians also
could dispel myths about bilingualism, such as raising children to be bilingual delays their
language development.

The findings also suggest that pediatricians can be resources for shaping bilingual language
development. Pediatricians, for example, might promote bilingualism by showing bilingual
programs in waiting rooms and providing parents with bilingual books. The Reach Out and
Read program could serve as a resource for bilingual books (Zuckerman & Augustyn, 2011).
Pediatricians also might partner with elementary schools and pre-schools to promote
bilingualism and parent-school collaborations to optimize bilingual education. Increasingly,
the role of pediatricians is evolving from traditional anticipatory guidance on safety and
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somatic growth to one that also includes promotion of language and culture. The pediatrician
could potentially have a positive effect on language and subsequent cultural identity
formation for children of parents seeking information on bilingualism. As society becomes
increasingly global, bilingualism may become a regular topic of discussion in the doctor’s
office.

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Limitations
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Certain study limitations should be noted. Participants were from a single urban clinic and
all were of Mexican origin. Participant families’ experiences with bilingual school programs
were with reference to their local school district. Replicating our study in a population with
a higher proportion of English-proficient parents would provide useful and complementary
data on raising children to be bilingual. Additionally, study parent’s command of the English
language was limited. This lack of English proficiency might also impact their attitudes
toward bilingualism. Additional research with parents who speak primary languages other
than Spanish or English could examine whether there are similar attitudes, beliefs, and
intended behaviors when approaching bilingualism. Finally, the definition of bilingualism
itself appears variable. Future studies might further address what it means to be truly or
completely bilingual.
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Acknowledgments
Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article: Dr. Shetgiri is supported by Grant K23HD068401 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and by Grant KL2RR024983, titled, “North and Central Texas
Clinical and Translational Science Initiative” (Robert Toto, MD, PI) from the National Center for Research
Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical
Research.

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 Lee et al. Page 12

Biographies
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Michael Lee, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical

Center Dallas, Texas. He is involved in resident education within the Continuity of Care
Clinic, Foster Care Clinic, and serves as director of the Ambulatory Care Rotation at
Children’s Medical Center. His past research has focused on simple cutaneous soft tissue
infections with MRSA. Currently, his interests include multilingualism, medical disparities,
and pediatric resident education.

Rashmi Shetgiri, MD, MSHS, is an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of

General Pediatrics at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical
Center and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her research focuses on racial/
ethnic health disparities, violence prevention, and conducting partnered research with Latino
communities.
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Alexis Barina, MD, is an internal medicine resident at UT Southwestern Medical Center in

Dallas, Texas. Alexis has research experience with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
After completion of her residency at UT Southwestern, she hopes to continue on a clinical
research career path.

John Tillitski is a student in the Master of Rehabilitation Counseling program at UT

Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, Texas. His past research involvement includes cocaine
relapse prevention, factors associated with adolescent fighting, and neural mechanisms for
episodic memory. Currently, his interests include mental health care for indigent populations
and process variables in psychotherapy.
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Glenn Flores, MD, is the Distinguished Chair of Health Policy Research at the Medica
Research Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a member of the Council of the
American Pediatric Society, the editorial board of Journal of Health Care for the Poor and
Underserved, and the National Advisory Committees of the RWJ Amos Medical Faculty
Development and Aligning Forces for Quality Programs. He was a member of the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force from 2010 to 2013. He is director of the NIDDK/APA
Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID), whose goal is to provide
career development and advancement for diverse junior faculty in general academic
pediatrics pursuing careers addressing pediatric obesity, nutrition, and/or sickle cell disease.
He has been a consultant/NAC member for the U.S. Surgeon General, IOM, CDC, NICHD,
AMA, NHMA, First Focus, the DHHS Office of Civil Rights, and Sesame Workshop. He
received the 2006 AAP Outstanding Achievement Award in the Application of
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Epidemiologic Information to Child Health Advocacy, the 2006 NHMA Health Leadership
Award, the 2008 Millie and Richard Brock Award for Distinguished Contributions to
Pediatrics, the 2010 Helen Rodríguez-Trías Social Justice Award from the APHA, and the
2012 Research Award from the Academic Pediatric Association (the first underrepresented
minority recipient). His 206 publications address a wide variety of research and policy
issues, including racial/ethnic disparities in children’s health and health care, language
barriers in health care, insuring the uninsured, health policy, and childhood obesity.

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 Lee et al. Page 13

Table 1

Moderator’s Guide for Focus Groups of Parents.

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Domain Question Probes

Advantages and disadvantages Does it matter if your child is bilingual? Tell us about the advantages and disadvantages of being
of bilingualism bilingual.
Do you think it is better or worse for your child if they speak
two languages? Why or why not?
How do you think speaking two languages will affect your
child’s language development?
How do you think speaking two languages will affect your
child’s intelligence?
If your child had a language delay, how would that affect your
decision to teach him or her two languages?
Factors that influence decision Who/what influences your decisions Where do you find information about raising a bilingual child?
making about raising your child to be bilingual? Do you trust that source? Why or why not?
Who did you ask for advice when you were deciding whether
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or not to raise your child to be bilingual?

Who have you seen raise a bilingual child? (family, friend, etc.)
How has that experience affected how you are raising your
child?
Strategies for helping children How do you help your child learn to What strategies (if any) are you using to help your child learn
learn two languages speak two languages fluently? to speak two languages? Where (from whom) did you learn this
strategy?
If you have more than one child, how have these strategies
changed from child to child?
How do you think your strategies might change as your child
gets older?
Do you think it’s better to speak only Spanish at home, only
English at home, or both Spanish and English? At school?
Why?
What language enrichment activities does your child do/attend
outside of school and home?
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If you practice reading and/or writing at home with your child,

what language(s) do you practice reading and writing in?
Who would you ask for advice if you suspected your child was
having trouble learning a second language? Why?
What information or resources would be helpful for you as you
raise a bilingual child?
Do you have any other comments?
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 Lee et al. Page 14

Table 2

Selected Socioeconomic Demographic Characteristics of Focus Group Parents (N = 13).

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Characteristic Finding
Mean age in years (±SD) 34.0 (± 5.7)
Gender (%)
Female 92
Male 8
Ethnic origin (%)
Mexican 100
Primary language spoken at home (%)
Spanish 100
English proficiency (%)
Good 8
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Not good/cannot speak English 92

Housing composition (%)
Two-parent home 92
Single-parent home 8
Educational attainment (%)
Did not complete high school 15
High school diploma 31
Some college 23
Bachelor’s degree or higher 23
Child sees doctor for regular check-ups (%)
Yes 92
No 8
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Table 3

Taxonomy of Parental Attitudes, Beliefs, and Intended Behaviors About Raising Bilingual Children.
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Benefits of raising children to be bilingual

Better job opportunities
United States becoming increasingly multilingual
Children can help their parents learn English
Bilingual children offer different points of view than monolingual children
Bilingual children friendlier
Reasons for teaching children Spanish
To maintain native language
Communicate well with other family members
Embarrassing for parents if Latino children don’t speak Spanish
Spanish beautiful and easy-to-understand language
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Children should learn “correct’ Spanish

Must be truly bilingual—spoken and written
Language and culture are intertwined
Speaking Spanish with parents and grandparents way to preserve heritage, and connect with older generation
Kids who don’t speak Spanish don’t understand cultural norms
Speaking Spanish equated with having good Mexican values and generational connectedness
Kids who don’t speak Spanish ashamed of parents/culture
Decision making regarding raising children to be bilingual
Parents ultimately in charge of making the decision
Parents rely on experiences with previous children
Learn from experiences of other family members/neighbors
Participating in school and community programs about raising children
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Talking with teachers at school

Environment influences more influential than parents
Barriers to raising bilingual children
Child resists learning Spanish because English easier
Teenagers uncooperative due to embarrassment
Confusion when first exposed to second language
Challenging switching from bilingual to English-only environments
Parents do not use available resources
Parents’ attitudes about bilingual programs at school
Confusing to learn to write both languages at once
Bilingual classes in kindergarten hinder children’s language development and learning
If children struggle in school, place in English-only classes and teach Spanish at home
Children should start bilingual classes before kindergarten
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Some bilingual class teachers not fully bilingual

Bilingual Latino teachers may teach children to speak English with accent
Parents’ methods for teaching bilingual language
Strong foundation in Spanish will prevent children from forgetting it later

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 Lee et al. Page 16

Speak Spanish only at home and English only at school

Correct children’s Spanish so they speak correctly
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Modify strategies based on child’s learning style

Parents most important influence on children speaking/reading/writing Spanish well
Parents also should be bilingual to understand their children
How bilingualism affects language development
Speaking two languages does not affect child’s language development
Bilingual children struggle more with language development, but eventually adapt
English language environmental influences (e.g., TV) in Spanish-primary-language home confuse children and delay speech
Parental inability to help children with English at home emotionally affects children
Developmental delay does not affect bilingual language acquisition
Resources for raising bilingual children
Parents’ own experiences with bilingualism
Advice from other families who have experiences with bilingualism
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Information from schools and teachers

Television (cartoons)
Bilingual books
Library
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Hisp J Behav Sci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 November 01.