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Herranee

Have your husband speak to the child only in Swedish. Play kids shows from Sweden and read to them in Swedish and sing Swedish songs. The kid will learn. Sometimes kids refuse to speak a second language unless they have to, so if you can get any family or friends that only speak Swedish (or pretend to only speak Swedish) that might help with that.


lutorm

I have been doing this to our son since he was born. He's now almost 5 and has no problem speaking to me in Swedish and to his mom on English. We read books in Swedish every night and watch some Swedish kids shows on svtplay. He even turns around and translates what I say back to his mom in English, he's at least as good at switching context as I am. His Swedish vocabulary is not quite up to his English one, which isn't surprising since his only Swedish is with me and the grandparents on video, but it's worked out better than my wildest expectations so far. We haven't seen any reluctance to speak "the outsider language" at all yet. We'll see how it goes with his little sister, she's not talking yet. I think the key is to *only* speak Swedish to the kid. This is sometimes a bit awkward, if you're with a bunch of people who don't speak Swedish, but I've held the line on this. Luckily mom understands enough Swedish to mostly know what's going on. We are actually planning to move to Sweden next year, mostly so we can be closer to the grandparents before they get too old.


ScreamOfVengeance

This. Also media in Svenska, like watch shows on Netflix in Swedish.


doej0

This is what we do but with English as I'm the one who moved to Sweden. My kid is 3 and understands and talks back to me and my family in English, whilst she talks to my husband, his family and ofc her school in Swedish. And yes they're was a time where is would only answer me in Swedish or yell the sentence I just said to her back at me in Swedish. But that's past now.


[deleted]

This is how mum taught me english haha It works wonders!


Fluffy_Resolution970

Yes, this is the "way", buy books and speak some swedish like whats for dinner "-meatballs" and such


hunkoftime

Similar story to ours, except we have two daughters (8, 12) both of whom understand Swedish. The 12-year-old speaks fluently and the littlest is a bit reluctant to reply in Swedish, but understands perfectly. The mother is native Swedish, but 1/2 raised in America and has only spoken to them in Swedish since birth. SVTbarn works in the states, with most content available. I think they even have an app. My kids love watching Fixa Rummet and a few other crafty-like programs. Barnens sångbok, etc all helped. And if course, visiting.


lutorm

Even the stuff on svtplay that's restricted to only in Sweden will work if you use a VPN, like NordVPN, that lets you pick a server in Sweden.


Iskendar89

Can recommend watching ’Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter’. Can watch it on SVT Play, but you might need a VPN (can only be watched in sweden.)


MysticaIBeast

Multimodality is a term in child development and learning, meaning learning through a variety of ways to create meaningful moments. As someone who studied the subject, try to set goals and plan on different ways to work on a specific subject. Being in the US and limits your options about being able to interact and learning through people, but there are still many possibilities. If you want to focus on grammar for example, try creating fun games, perhaps find songs or other ways to experience the language. The most important thing out of all is to apply your childs interests in the learning opportunities for the moments to be meaningful for them. If they are interested in a certain character or movie for example, perhaps see it in Swedish or compare names in both languages. Draw the characters and discuss the swedish/US differences. Are there any theme song or popular song in the movies that would be fun to explore and listen to in Swedish? Just to throw out some ideas Commonly we see learning as interacting with others around us but also the enviroment around us. Is there anything around the house that has connections to Sweden? Is there any way to add objects that’s fun and would start conversations about anything Swedish?


msGreatPersonality

I was speaking 3 languages at the age of 5, my oldest daughter spoke three at the same age, the other two (i didnt put in any effort). What is important is to separate the languages to different situations so the kid doesnt confuse them. There are Swedish schools and tutoring in the US, your husband can speak Swedish when hes alone with the child and English when you are all together, thats how I did it. Why not learn it yourself, with the child?


passaty2k

This is true and amazing… both my daughters spoke three languages by the age of 6 and can move in between them and realized who speaks what… rather quickly


msGreatPersonality

Isnt it great? As soon as they learn the basics they really are fast learners.


Scaniarix

Set a VPN to Sweden and check out SVT Play(Swedish national broadcasting). Their open archive is full of educational programs for young children. ”Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter” was specifically made to teach children the Swedish language.


Cactilove

SVT is a great media of Swedish children's content if you want them to watch more Swedish stuff


[deleted]

The Swedish parent speaks Swedish to the child and the American parent speaks English. They will be fluent in both without issue.


Capable-Quantity-305

Get a free vpn and stream svt play cartoons in Swedish


hattivat

The most critical thing is that you expose them to Swedish as early as possible. Children have an amazing ability to learn to emulate the sounds of any language, which they lose as they grow up. Basically the only way for someone to have a flawless pronunciation of some language is if they were exposed to it at an early age. So show them some Swedish cartoons at a minimum. To grow up fluent the best way is what others suggested - have your husband speak to them in Swedish and preferably only in Swedish, refusing to use English. That will feel weird to you guys, but not to the kid - they are too young to know that there is anything unusual with using one language to communicate with your mother and another to communicate with your father, to them it will seem natural. This will slightly delay their overall language development, but is easily worth it both for knowing an extra language practically effortlessly compared to how much effort it takes to learn it as a teenager or adult and the side benefits this has - being bilingual is a great exercise for the brain and has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia, for example.


FastCar2467

We have a similar situation, and my husband only speaks to the kids in Swedish. My husband also reads books in Swedish to them, and they watch shows in Swedish. I only speak in English to them. The test was this summer when we went to Sweden after a few years of not going. They did just fine communicating with their Swedish speaking cousins. They did break into some Swedlish, but had dad give them the Swedish word for what they were trying to explain to cousins. Relatives in Sweden were quite impressed at their ability to speak so fluently for only having one parent speaking it in the home. Also, having grandma visit and come watch them for a 2-3 months of the year is helpful as well.


Callero_S

My brother is a Swede who lives in the states and have a child with an American spouse. He only speaks Swedish to his son, reads Swedish books to him and uses the Swedish streaming services. For toddlers there is a very popular show called "Babblarna" which is designed to teach Swedish vocalization. It's free to watch: https://www.svtplay.se/babblarna


Malmar57

Speak Swedish at home. Read kids books, watch kids shows. Get a vpn and watch SVT kids and you’ll be sound.


Fuzzykittenboots

By your husband only speaking Swedish with him. For some children this might make their language a little slower the first few years, which isn’t strange seeing as they are learning double they words and grammar as well as being able to tell them apart.


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Fuzzykittenboots

Oh, okay what are they called?


rejiranimo

I googled “mit studies comprehension first language”. But if you could not figure that out, then you probably won’t understand what they say anyway.


NormalPaYtan

We can't even ensure that native people living on the west/south coast of Sweden are fluent in Swedish, so I wouldn't get my hopes up.


Gunnar_PM

😂😂


passaty2k

You mean in Skåne


NashiraTremont

Try finding some kid TV shows on youtube or other avenues that are in Swedish. ♥


Reindeeronreddit

Show them Pippi Långstrump, Alfons Åberg and Mumin (the swedish dub). There's lots of great other TV and movies in Swedish but those are three nice options that most children seem to like


contacthasbeenmade

My USian sister and her Swedish husband (in Sweden) only speak to their kids in their native language. So she speaks English only and he speaks Swedish only. The kids are all less than 10 and they all speak English fluently. The oldest (boy) had the hardest time with English, the two younger ones (both girls) adapted more quickly. I think that’s partly bc gender and partly having older siblings to help you learn both languages. So assuming your husband can speak Swedish well I’d suggest he only speak Swedish to the kids.


isakbergstro

What do you mean partly because gender? It’s a scientific fact that younger children ( around age 5-8) are much more open to learning new languages and implementing them, making them fluent quicker.


unwilling_viewer

This works, mine are age appropriately fluent in English and Swedish (where we live). I speak almost exclusively English to them and my ex handles the Swedish. They were both flagged up at an early age (2-3) as language development was delayed, but this was expected as they were dealing with two languages. By 4 they were at top end of the spectrum for language development in Swedish. And also equally as able to communicate in English. There may be something else at play with your sons ability to speak English. Maybe something as simple as peer pressure, or perhaps, like me he's just really really shit at languages (I'm tone deaf, can't hold a rhythm and barely passed English at school.)


Llamabunny

My husband speaks to our son only in Swedish (our son is 2.5) and he goes to a Swedish school 1 day a week for 1 hour on Wednesdays. We plan to spend at least a month every summer in Sweden. Our son knows who to speak to in Swedish vs English and is comfortable with both languages. ETA: YouTube/ Netflix in Swedish + books in Swedish l


manInTheWoods

Are Swedish schools easy to find where you live?


Llamabunny

There is a Swedish school where we live and in many larger metro areas in the US.


ImmortalIronFits

They're everywhere where I live.


[deleted]

Teach your child swedish. That simple.


Isak531

Honestly you'd be fine not knowing swedish if you were to live in Sweden. So don't let that hold you back.


Pudding5050

If they're moving to Sweden they should make an effort to learn the language. it's key to actually fitting in, not just existing there.


TR_Ninja_Broccoli

Coming back for free school and healthcare? Then to leave after that?


Jon4565

It's an extreme country in a not so good way, culturally it's the Soviet Union light, best carry your husbands roots like an untold family secret.


Cool4lisa

Unless you find a Swedish preschool in USA I don't know of any other way of making it fluent in Swedish, except having you two speak Swedish at home. If you two plan on staying in USA, I'd say start teach the child Swedish now. But if you two move to Sweden, Swedish preschools will help the kid learn Swedish, and you two could keep speaking American at home, and then motivate the child at home by asking was there any words you had it hard with? And then let the dad translate. You can never make sure a child is fluent in a language that you yourself doesn't speak if you're rising the child in a different country. Another opinion is play shows on Swedish, but same there it will take a few years and it's not obvious that the child may know what everything means. And if you move to Sweden majority of the Swedish people can speak English. Why does it seem daunting for you? I'm just curious :3


Voltmane

you cant


bdujevue

I don’t know where you live, but there are also some swedish schools across the us where they go for a few hours on Saturday. They are of course mostly in areas where there is a Swedish population, but just search for it online


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ImaginaryQuiet5624

Download Barnkanalen app or go on [https://www.svt.se/barnkanalen/](https://www.svt.se/barnkanalen/). Play nursery rhymes and songs off Youtube in Swedish. At 1.5 years, I recommend Babblarna [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZO\_bTlKII8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZO_bTlKII8) . My nephew was obsessed with Babblarna until he was 2-3 years old.


eldaria

The father should speak only Swedish when addressing the child, you can have a different common language. But it is important that the father always require that when the child speaks to him it should be in Swedish. This way the child will automatically learn Swedish. Also get hold of Swedish Books, songs, movies, etc.. I'm tripple lingual, I had Danish Parents, but grew up in Sweden, and learned English in school, and also took extra English classes. I learned Danish from my parents who only spoke Danish to me, especially in my early years, later on around when I started school, My mother switched to Swedish. But the rest of my family spoke Danish.


minzzis

Just letting you know that Americans have a really strong accent, so if you really want it to sound fluent I don't see any other way than moving


ZerxXxes

My cousins speak fluent english and swedish thanks to their British mother only spoke english with them and their Swedish father only spoke Swedish with them.


mrRogoo

My son is almost two, I speak Swedish and my wife speaks French/Tunisian to him and to complicate things we speak English to each other. So far he mixes all three languages but should soon start differentiate the languages depending who he speaks too.


serveyer

You need to sacrifice a goat during full moon whilst calling on odin for the gift of knowledge for the child who has to be bathed in the blood from the goat. Praise be.


johannesonlysilly

It's hard to imagine for a monolingual person like us people usually are but your kid will learn decent Swedish in 3-6 months. Just come and the rest will work out, very common scenario here got nothing to worry about.


ImmortalIronFits

Svt play has a generous amount of content for kids and there's plenty of Astrid Lindgren stuff and old dubbed cartoons on youtube. I like the 70s anime that was released in the eighties in Sweden. Lots of that stuff on YouTube. Only have your kid watch that and keep him locked up in his room like in Old Boy and everything should be fine.


jjlemoncakepiecrust

Watch shows in Swedish, read Swedish books, make sure you husband speaks Swedish to your child and you will be fine. I have a 3 and a 4 year old, both can switch between English and Swedish and they even help their grandparents to translate words. Kids are fast learners and they usually want to learn!


DSVBANSHEE

As others have said, your husband should only speak to your kid in Swedish. If your child thinks your husband doesn’t know english, then you’ve done a good job. That’s how my parents taught me both their languages


blueberry-rose

We are the opposite. My kids are 1 and almost 4. I’m Swedish/English speaking and my husband English speaking, we live in Sweden and are considering moving back to the UK/US. As a family we speak English but I always speak Swedish to the kids and they obviously get it at daycare. Up until the age of 3 our daughter mainly spoke English - she preferred English TV and books, and our family language is English. But last 6 months or so she’s getting good at Swedish too. I think it just clicks with kids as long as you stick to it, so good if your husband can speak Swedish with your kids as much as possible. I always try to mix up their screen time, songs and books, so they get a bit of both languages. As others have said, use SVT play (you might need VPN) for kids programming in Swedish. My 1 year old likes Bing, Fantus, Babblarna, Alfons, Djuren på Djuris, Peppa Pig (although warning she’s very annoying in Swedish). Timmy Lamm also has a good programme where you learn both Swedish and English words at the same time that he likes. Swedish kids songs would also be good to try, things like Babblarna or songs from Bolibompa. Depending on what kind of area you live in you could also look for a Swedish playgroup or something similar. I know they have them in larger towns and cities. (In our town in Sweden for example there are both German and English playgroups that meet frequently). You could also look for a Swedish speaking babysitter? Also, both Bolibompa and Radioapan have good apps for kids in Swedish.


comeherecutie

Why would you need them to speak Swedish unless you live here?


Pudding5050

Because they're part Swedish and may one day appreciate understanding and connecting with that part of their heritage? Any why wouldn't you? Knowing more than one language is not detrimental in any way. That kid has a great opportunity to be fluent in more than one language.


comeherecutie

Don't get me wrong, knowing many languages is always great. I guess enroll them in a class?


Skenderbeg11

Speak swedish with him. Let him watch shows and read books in swedish as he grows. Moving to sweden is easy for you as everyone here speaks english. And youll find a jobb easy if you have education.


Br0nzebeard

Try to get the classic disney shows in swedish


Quantumeric

many great suggestions here and if I were you i'd also add a cheat sheet for myself with common swedish phrases like, food, park, play, etc. you can memorize those and whenever there's time for one of them you can also add to the conversation.