Growing Up with Two Languages: What We See at Nursery and How We Support Bilingual Children

Many of the families we welcome at Destiny Haven Nursery are raising their children with two or more languages. In Haringey and the surrounding areas of North London, that is simply the reality of the communities we are part of, and it is something we genuinely value. Languages bring richness, connection, and identity into a child's life.

Parents often come to us with worries, though. Will my child get confused? Will speaking our home language slow down their English? Should I just switch to English at home to help them settle in? These are completely understandable questions, and I want to share what we actually see and experience at nursery, rather than what might sound reassuring in theory.

What bilingual development actually looks like

When a child arrives with a home language that is different from the nursery setting, there is often a period of quiet observation. We see this regularly. A child who chatters confidently at home might seem withdrawn in the first few weeks, listening and watching carefully before they feel ready to speak. This is not a delay. It is a very natural and healthy part of adjusting to a new language environment.

What we also notice, usually within a few months, is that these children often develop a remarkable sensitivity to language. They pick up on tone, context, and meaning in ways that can be striking. They move between languages fluidly, sometimes mixing them in a single sentence. That mixing, sometimes called code-switching, is not a sign of confusion. It is actually a sophisticated skill that reflects genuine bilingual thinking.

Supporting home languages at nursery

One of the things I feel strongly about is that a child's home language should never be treated as something to overcome. It is part of who they are.

In our nursery, we try to:

• Find out key words and phrases in each child's home language during the settling-in process, so their key person can use them where possible
• Display greetings and familiar words in multiple languages around the room
• Welcome parents and carers to share songs, stories, or words from home, which we can incorporate into the day
• Make sure children never feel embarrassed or corrected for speaking their home language
• Use our Wellcomm programme thoughtfully, understanding that communication milestones look different for bilingual children

We follow a gentle, personalised settling-in approach led by each child's key person, and for bilingual children this relationship becomes especially important. A trusted adult who notices when a child understands something, even if they are not yet speaking, can make an enormous difference.

The home language question

Parents often ask whether they should speak more English at home to support nursery learning. My honest answer is almost always the same: keep speaking your home language. The richness of vocabulary and the emotional depth a child develops in their first language actually supports their acquisition of additional languages. A strong foundation in any language is a foundation for all language.

What does help is reading together regularly, in whichever language feels natural. Talking about the day, narrating what you are doing, singing songs. These habits build language regardless of which language they are in.

When to seek a little extra support

Bilingual children are sometimes referred for speech and language assessments, and occasionally that referral is genuinely useful. But it is worth knowing that typical speech and language milestones are based largely on monolingual children, which means bilingual children can appear to be behind when they are not.

If a child seems to be struggling to communicate in both languages, or if there are concerns beyond language alone, then it is worth raising with the nursery team and your health visitor. But a child who is quiet in English while being expressive at home is almost always doing exactly what they should be doing.

At Destiny Haven Nursery, we use the Wellcomm screening tool as part of how we track language and communication development. We approach this with bilingual children in mind, and we always consider the fuller picture, including what parents tell us about how their child communicates at home.

What we see over time

The bilingual children we have watched grow through our nursery across our Noel Park and Tottenham settings have, without exception, found their feet. Some take longer than others. Some arrive speaking very little English and leave fully confident. Some arrive confident and go through a quieter patch in the middle. Every journey is different, but the trajectory is almost always a positive one when children feel safe, seen, and unhurried.

If you are thinking about nursery for a bilingual child and wondering how we would support them, I would genuinely love to show you around and talk it through. You can book a tour at either of our sites, and we will take the time to understand your child and your family before they even start.