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As a Colombian-American raising two children with a gringo husband, I’ve come to appreciate that we come from vastly different backgrounds. American and Latino families tend to have different expectations and traditions when it comes to raising children. We tend to be loud, gregarious and tight-knit, which can be overwhelming. Given that fact, it’s important to have an understanding and mutual agreement when it comes to the “mixed culture” in which you will raise your children.
Oftentimes, we assume that our kids will naturally follow what we feel in our hearts, but it’s not always that simple. It takes effort to raise little Americans who are culturally-aware Latinos. More so, it’s a team effort to instill in our children a love for our culture, while walking a fine line so as not to alienate their American heritage. How do we, as Latino parents, achieve the balance between our children’s constant exposure to all that is American and our desire to raise them with a strong sense of their Latino self?
We are surrounded by so much promise in this country, so many wonderful opportunities. But in those opportunities lies the chance to lose where we came from. The social media our children are exposed to is mostly in English and, quite frankly, doesn’t always mirror our values and beliefs.
It’s important to note that many of us who cling to our Latino heritage are Americans too, but it’s a matter of who we are that is rooted so strongly in the traditions our parents raised us with. We have a strong sense of family, a joy for life and an appreciation for the struggles our culture has endured. We have a deep-seated sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. We are Latinos and we stand together. Our parents taught us to be true to who we are and never forget where we came from. These are the core values we should pass on to our children.
So how do we achieve this goal of raising little Americans with Latino pride? It takes work.
Firstly, teach your children Spanish. I cannot tell you the immense pride you will feel when they ask for their leche or scream “Mas!” when being served arroz con frijoles. Expose them not only to the language and the foods, but also to the immense love of family and the orgullo you feel for being Latino.
We must remember that our children are Americans, too. The day will come when our daughters will want a Barbie, but perhaps you can include Theresa, her little Latina friend. And when our sons want to play football, they will have the option of using their hands or feet. We might be raising them in the U.S. but we should instill in them a love for all that being Latino represents. I know that for me, my greatest sense of pride is in being the family-oriented, proud, strong Latina that I am, and I want that for my children, too.
Guest Contributor, Angela Mesa-Taylor.
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My husband has learned to speak Spanish while raising out son in a bilingual home… basically this puts him at a 4 year old’s level but at least it’s something! =)
My husband and I are both Latino and are fluent in Spanish and English because we had no choice. However, we have failed to teach out kids Spanish and we are embarrassed. It’s difficult when mine and my husbands primary language is English at home. I know soon enough we have to make the time to teach them so they can understand what it really means to be Latino.
@Salvatore That is such a petty argument.
United States of America = American
Estados Unidos Mexicanos = Mexicano not American even though its in the same North American continent. Call anyone from a latin nation an American and get ready to be slapped. I’m sure every other nation in Latin America wants to be called by their nationality. So get over it already.
Great article but the term gringo is offensive.
Great article
Latina married with gringo = gringo children (no spanish)
Latino married with gringa = latino kids and gringa fluent in spanish ;D
So people in Latin America are not “Americans?”
even if not bi-racial kids born/raised in USA lose some of the culture,pride, & language.
EXCELLENT…..IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE AND LOVE….
I have to completely disagree with Giancarlo when he says “Latina married to an american = american children (no spanish)” . I am a latina married to an american who does not speak any Spanish. My two kids (five and three year old) are fully bilingual. I also have female friends in my situation and their kids are also bilingual. I think that everything comes down to how important for a parent is her (or his) kids to be bilingual. In my case, I find it extremely important that my children know about our culture and are fluent in the language, so I work on that every single day. I force myself to speak to them in Spanish only (no matter the situation!) and “force” my kids to speak back to me in Spanish (I pretend I do not understand when they speak to me in English). As a Latin parents we should not be happy only with the fact that the kids can understand everything we say in our language. They should be able to speak too. For a person to be fully bilingual has to be able to understand, speak and write in two languages.
Good article. However, I had to laugh at how the author describes the Latino community. “We have a strong sense of family, a joy for life and a deep appreciation for the struggles our culture has endured.” That could pretty much describe every group of people. A little too broad of a stroke.
It all starts en el hogar! Enjoyed reading………:-)
It’s hard because my husband is a white and most of the people around us speak English only. So as much as I speak Spanish to my daughter, it’s hard to make it stick.
I think it all depends on the ethnic makeup of the community. For those of us that were raised in latin communities it was easy to learn Spanish. For those raised in communities with few or no Latinos it becomes much more difficult.
@ Salvatore we are all American but we are called Latinos.. Yr question reminded me of a song by a (Mexican band) los tigres del norte that says if Latin america is called America why Is it they can’t call us americans!! Any who! I like reading articles like this one! I love my culture!
Loved the article!
@salvatore – they are americans in the sense they are all on this continent, biut they are not americans as we are in the sense that their country is not called America. We are called Americans because our country name is USA. Mexicans are Mexicanos because their country is called Mexico. Latin Americans are always feeling poorly because Americans call themselves what they are per the country name, not because they are trying to take something away from anyone else. Same thing in Europe. All of them are Europeans, but they are not all English.
^LOL What?
^^ LOL. In that case I’m just going to call myself a Mexican-United Statesian, you know, so there’s no confusion.
From Canada to Argentina are the Americas!
Susana, you fall into the same trap that runs parallel with US hegemony. The fact that you feel that Latin Americans feel “poorly” because of that is wrong. Latin Americans do not “feel poor” but HAVE BEEN MADE to feel that way. I am not sure what you mean by “poor,” actually, I might call it an inferiority complex given what the United States has done to the rest of America. I honestly do not understand what you were trying to convey to be honest.
Good article! I am also raising a bicultural family. I am married to an Arab and we expose our daughter to both cultures. I am very big on culture and I believe it is very important that we know where we come from.
“not because they are trying to take something away from anyone else.” MY BAD. The U.S. never tried to concentrate power by means of culture and language. Silly me.
Such good article, gracias!
I rather have US “hegemony” ( a fancy 10 dollar word leftist professors teach gullible kids in college) than Mexican, Colombian, Cuban, Venezuelan, Chinese, Russian hegemony any day!
@Sabrina: Not true.
@Mario: Care to explain why?
Great article! Mexicana, raised in the U.S. since 5yrs of age & my husband is white. He has Polish/German background; therefore, there will be a lot of culture to teach our future kids. Proud to be Latina & it’s extremely important for us that both, English & Spanish will be the two languages spoken at home.