Left to right our son Nathan (3 1/2), Gaby's mother Isabel or Abue (short for grandmother, sort of like grandma), and our daughter Daniela (18 months). Here are some thoughts on raising children to be bilingual. Most of the reasons apply to both bilingual families and those who are planning to be.

My wife Gaby and I married seven years ago today. We met in her home town of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Since then we've had two children Nathan (3 ½ years old) and Daniela (18 months) and because of being a two-language household we've given some thought to the advantages of raising children to be bilingual. Here's a short list of the advantages.

1. Travel: When they travel they’ll be able to hail a taxi, take a bus, order food, attend church, and possibly avoid being cheated.
2. Employment: We're fairly confident potential employers will notice this skill and take a closer look at them.
3. Communication: They’ll be able to communicate with another 400 million people around the world.
4. Foundation: Knowing both English and Spanish will open the door to learning many other languages.
5. Great books. It’s also important because there are terrific books you can’t find in English. You might think that all the great works are available at least in translation in English, but my favorite modern author, Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez, who writes self-improvement fiction for children and adults such as Sangre de Campeón: Invencible, Mujeres en Conquista, and Volar Sobre el Pantano are not yet readily available in English.
6. Family ties: For us, the most important reason we want our children to be bilingual is so they can talk to Abue (short for abuela or grandmother). We want them to be able to talk to their grandmother on the telephone or sit in her lap and have a nice conversation. That’s a blessing we don’t take for granted and want them to enjoy. Being able to talk to her and dozens of other family members is at the heart of the matter for us.
7. Missed Opportunities: All right, so not everyone has a grandmother who speaks a different language. What about them? One of the great blessings of having children is being able to enjoy things the second time around. You get to enjoy books you enjoyed when you were little. You get to enjoy going to places that were fun to visit when you were small. You get to re-learn things you enjoyed learning when you were a child. And you get to learn new things that you missed out on the first time around? Maybe it was algebra. Maybe Spanish. What a blessing!