One of the things people often share with me is that they hesitate to speak their language with their children because their partner might feel left out, or because it feels overwhelming to carry the responsibility of passing on a language without much support. I completely understand why that can feel difficult. In our family, part of making trilingualism work has been my willingness to learn Dutch as an adult. I’m not fluent. I still make mistakes, search for words and respond in a mix of languages. But I understand so much more than I used to, I can communicate with my husband’s family (most of the time) and I can be part of the Dutch conversations happening around our children. It doesn’t need to be all or nothing. One parent can keep sharing their language, while the other learns alongside the family little by little. You don’t have to speak perfectly to participate. Sometimes, showing curiosity, making an effort and being open to learning is enough to make the language feel like ...