It's one of the most common questions we hear from multilingual families in Melbourne's South-East — and the evidence is reassuring.
If you're raising your child with more than one language and someone has suggested you “just stick to English”, you're not alone — and you don't have to take that advice.
The short answer
No, learning two (or more) languages does not cause language delays or disorders. Bilingual children reach major language milestones on a similar timeline to monolingual children when you look at their total vocabulary across both languages. Bilingualism is a strength, not a risk factor.
What's typical for bilingual development
- Mixing languages within a sentence (code-switching) is a normal, sophisticated skill — not a sign of confusion.
- A child might have a smaller vocabulary in each individual language than a monolingual peer, but a larger combined vocabulary overall.
- A “silent period” when starting care or school in a new language is common and usually resolves within a few months.
- Children often understand more than they say in a newer or less-practised language.
When it's worth a closer look
The key question isn't “is my child behind in English?” — it's whether difficulties show up in every language your child knows. A true developmental language disorder affects all of a child's languages, not just the one they've had less exposure to. If home-language milestones are on track but English is still developing, that's usually just a matter of time and exposure, not a disorder.
Please don't drop your home language
This is a myth worth debunking firmly: switching to English-only at home does not speed up English development, and it can weaken your child's home language, family relationships and cultural connection without any real benefit. Strong skills in one language actually transfer and support the other. Keep talking, reading and singing in whatever language feels most natural to you.
How we support bilingual families
Wherever possible, we assess and gather information about all of a child's languages — not just English — using family input, interpreters where needed, and an understanding of what's typical across different language backgrounds. We never treat a home language as something to work around.
A few practical tips
- Keep offering rich, varied language in every language you use at home — stories, songs, everyday chat.
- There's no single “right” approach — one-parent-one-language, mixing languages by context, or a more fluid mix can all work well. Follow what feels natural for your family.
- Reading together in your home language counts, and builds skills that transfer to English too.
If you'd like a chat about your child's development across the languages they're growing up with, we'd love to help.