Raise a Bilingual Kid

Right now, you may be more focused on getting your baby to utter her first words, never mind what language she says them in. Or if you're teaching your toddler the alphabet, throwing in the ABCs in Chinese probably isn't on the agenda. But the perfect time to introduce your child to a foreign language is actually just when she's learning her first one. "A young child's brain is wired to pick up language naturally," says Nancy Rhodes, director of foreign-language education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, in Washington, D.C. "Between birth and puberty, children can learn multiple languages and echo accents easily."

Not only will a child generally learn a language faster and retain it better than an adult will, but being bilingual actually builds brainpower. Studies have found that knowing another language can improve children's English verbal skills, problem-solving abilities, and test scores. "Learning early on that an object can be described in more than one way (house, maison, casa), promotes flexibility in thinking and overall creativity," says Karen MacGilvray, director of education at Language Stars, a children's language program based in Chicago. "Parents are realizing how important it is to raise their children as global citizens. Inspiring enthusiasm for a second language is the best head start you can give your child."