August 21, 2025 • 48 mins
This week, we welcome Lucía Garrett, founder of Pato Pato and the brilliant mind who coined the term "Spanish-first kids." As someone currently raising Spanish-dominant children myself, I was so excited to dive deep into this intentional approach to bilingual parenting. Lucía shares why the Spanish-only stage is so crucial for our kids and how we can stay confident in our choices, even when family members question us or when we feel like we're not doing enough.
For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode133
What You'll Hear:
- What it means to raise "Spanish-first kids" and why this approach gives Spanish the head start it needs before English takes over
- How to handle pressure from family, self-doubt about your Spanish skills, and the fear that your kids will learn incorrectly
- Real tactics from families successfully raising Spanish-first children, including how to handle mixed-language households
- Why isolation is one of the biggest challenges and how finding your tribe makes all the difference
- What to do when your kids start resisting Spanish and try to switch to English
Ways to Follow Lucía:
- Instagram: @play_patopato
- Website: playpatopato.com
- Facebook: @playpatopato1
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica (00:00):
the first three years or four, of a child's life is so
(00:05):
crucial if you wannaintentionally raise them
bilingual.
Lucia (00:09):
I like to call the Spanish only stage, that stage
where our children, whether, youknow, one parent or both parents
are speaking to'em in Spanishonly.
Yes.
As they're growing up, sincetheir babies, are only seeing
Spanish, right?
So it's right before all theoutside influences come in and
they start picking up Englishbecause when English takes over
it does it really fast.
And so what makes that stagereally crucial, and it is
(00:31):
actually research fact, is thatwhat we're doing is we're giving
Spanish a head start.
once English takes over, Spanishhas really strong roots and
we're able to carry thatbilingualism longer into their
lives rather than just doingboth languages from the
beginning.
When a child speaks Spanishfirst, which is a minority
language, I think it's reallyimportant that we give its place
(00:54):
to the minority language and wegive it that head start, so it
will stick.
Jessica (00:57):
And I think that as they are bilingual, essentially
they will be able to identify usthat way.
It's so important to raise themin just the minority language
first.
And so, I think with adding thatinto play and what you've been
saying, I think it is veryimportant to, consider raising
(01:18):
Spanish only kids.
(02:26):
Ola.
Ola Miga.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Viva la Mami Podcast.
I'm your host, Jessica Cuevas,and today I have a very special
guest on the show.
Her name is Lucia Garrett.
She is the founder of Pato Pato,which is, oh my gosh, I think
that it is.
So nuanced because it is acommunity of bilingual parents,
(02:48):
um, interactive toys and reallygreat resources that she offers
on Instagram.
I feel very privileged andhonored whenever she tags me in
her posts I think that it isvery important to build
community among bilingualparents because we shouldn't do
this alone.
And so part of our conversationwill be about that as far as
(03:10):
with how to raise bilingual kidsspecifically in the Spanish only
stage, which I'm very excited totalk about.
Um, because as you know, I'mraising Spanish dominant
children at.
This time since they're reallylittle and I think there's a
very key importance in doingthat.
Uh, but we're gonna focus onLucia's business.
So Lucia, thank you so much forbeing on the show.
(03:30):
I really appreciate it.
Lucia (03:32):
Thank you so much for having me, and like you said, I
think it's amazing that, that,you know, I can be here and be
part of your community too and,and say hi to the people that
follow you and kind of touch onall of these things that we
don't have in common.
I feel like a lot of the timeswe feel a little isolated and
it's important to know thatthere are other moms, you know,
doing the same thing as us.
So it's amazing to be here andthank you.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_09114 (03:54):
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you.
Well, Lucia, before we delveinto the conversation, if you
can introduce yourself to ourlisteners.
Tell us a little bit more aboutyou, where you live, where you
grew up, your family, LAA
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2025 (04:06):
I was born in Argentina, in Buenos
Aires.
Uh, when I was two, uh, myfamily moved to Mexico City and
so I consider myself Mexican.
I'm an honorary Mexican.
Uh, every time anybody asks me,you know where I'm from.
I'm from Mexico, and so that's,that's my, that's my people.
And I was there, um, until Iwas.
17 speaking.
(04:26):
No English, by the way.
Moved to uh, LA My dad's in themusic business, and so he had
opportunities in la Um, and sohe took'em.
He, he wanted to be out there.
He was traveling out there alot, so we moved there.
And I started my senior year inhigh school, uh, haven't read,
(04:46):
uh, the Call of the Wild and allof the class like fumbling my
way through the classics inEnglish.
And that's the English that Iknew, you know.
And so I got to school andpeople talked to me and I had no
idea what they were saying.
And um, that was really tough.
'cause obviously senior year,you know, everybody already has
their friends and their groupsand their cliques and stuff.
(05:08):
And it was such a culture shocktoo, because it's.
All of those things that I hadseen in movies, like were real,
there were all of these likecliques and groups.
And I got lucky that I found agroup of Latino kids actually,
um, that were, that I becamereally close with all of them
from different places in LatinAmerica, which was awesome too.
(05:29):
And I became really close withthem and got, you know, got
through that last year of highschool.
Then I started college rightaway.
Um, after college, I.
I started working at anadvertising agency, which was
kind of my dream job and it wasan advertising agency that took
all of the American clients buttranslated all the stuff for
(05:50):
them and worked with'em inSpanish, which was just amazing
'cause I got to work with thesereally big clients, but doing it
in Spanish.
So it was the best of bothworlds.
Um,
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (06:00):
Yeah.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2 (06:00):
then
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0 (06:01):
awesome.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-20 (06:02):
met my husband at my following
agency and together.
we Start our own, uh, eventmarketing agency, and then we,
uh.
Shortly after moved toCincinnati to get married.
We got married there.
We also had our wedding inArgentina.
'cause my grandma was 92 and shecouldn't travel.
And it was important to me that,you know, my family out there
(06:22):
was a part, it's, it's hard withvisas and stuff in Argentina to
travel out here.
And it was important for me thatthey were a part of a
celebration too, plus.
Really be able to party outthere.
You know how it is.
It's just different and so muchfun.
(06:44):
Um, so we had our wedding outthere too, and then we were in
Cincinnati.
We have both of our kids outthere and now we, the, the wind
has blown us over to northwestArkansas where we've been for
three months.
It's been really amazing.
It's just a really, there's alot more of a Hispanic community
here, which I love for the kids.
(07:04):
I just love that we can go tothe park and somebody else is
like speaking Spanish to theirkids.
It's it like, it like makes myheart happy because we were
really rural in Ohio.
Um, and I, I mean, we were notexposed to that at all.
There's just not that much, um,that much of a community out
there.
So it's been really, really coolto kind of like see the kids.
(07:26):
Um.
React to that and be a part ofthat is just really exciting.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_091 (07:31):
That's awesome.
Well, thank you for sharing yourstory.
I had no idea that you were bornin Argentina
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2 (07:37):
Yes, I know.
It's like I,
jessica_1_06-14-2025_091143 (07:39):
in Mexico.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2025 (07:40):
I know my parents still kind of,
my parents still talk likeArgentinians, but I never c
Mexico, I just never like itnever stuck.
Like that's just, yeah.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (07:51):
Yeah, yeah, you were little and, and
that, that's what's interesting,but that like, depending on
where people are raised and whattheir environment is, it really
makes an impact in terms oflike, knows, like their
squadcaster-04e5_1_06- (08:04):
Totally.
And even culturally, I mean, Ilearned, you know, I learned
Mexican history, I learned the,I learned all of that from
Mexico.
So that is, that's just my, it'slike an adoptive parent.
You know what I mean?
That's my country.
I, it's hard to explain, butYeah.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (08:23):
Yeah.
Well, you talk about the Spanishonly stage, and I'm very
curious.
To learn more about that, justbecause I love how, you know,
when you put words into place,you are able to then identify
like, oh, this is what we havebeen utilizing into practice,
you know, to, name it or titleit.
(08:45):
Right.
And so I, I would love for youto explain what Spanish only
sage means and
Jessica (08:51):
why it's so important for Latina moms, um, to utilize
this in that period of theirkids' lives?
Lucia (08:59):
Totally.
So I, I like to call the Spanishonly stage, uh, that stage where
our children, whether, you know,one parent or both parents are
speaking to'em in Spanish only.
Yes.
As they're growing up, sincetheir babies, um, are only
seeing Spanish, right?
So it's right before all theoutside influences come in and
they start picking up Englishbecause when English takes over
it does it really fast.
(09:21):
And so what makes that stagereally crucial, and it is
actually research fact, is thatwhat we're doing is we're giving
Spanish a head start.
Jessica (09:29):
Hmm.
Lucia (09:29):
once English takes over, Spanish has really strong roots
and we're able to carry thatbilingualism longer into their
lives rather than just doingboth languages from the
beginning.
When a child speaks Spanishfirst, which is a minority
language, soon it won't be foryou.
But right now, right being inthe US, I think it's really
(09:49):
important that we give its placeto the minority language and we
give it that head start, so itwill stick.
Jessica (09:56):
Yeah.
That's amazing and, and it makesso much sense and, and I.
Uh, the way that I've beeninterpreting it is like they are
Spanish dominant and I just lovewhat, what you're mentioning,
like how you're, I don't know ifyou coined it or whatever, but
the Spanish only stage.
I think that's really cool and Ithink that that is so important.
(10:17):
Um, Mateo is part of a researchstudy.
A part of Loyola University inChicago.
And right now being that we arelocal, what the researchers do
is that they visit us and theydo this kind of like, um,
session where they record, theyinter, they, they record our
interactions.
They, uh, utilize play-basedlike, uh, research where, you
(10:42):
know, they present some toys andthen we like play with the toys
and just really understandinghow we're interacting with our
kids and.
Based on their research andright now they're like expanding
on it more and they're trying tocollect more people, you know,
to participate in that research.
But based on what they'vediscovered so far is that the
first three years or four, um,of a child's life is so crucial
(11:06):
if you wanna intentionally raisethem bilingual.
And I think that as they arebilingual, um, essentially they
will be able to identify us thatway.
It's so important to raise themin just the minority language
first.
Um, because as you know, they'llbe fully immersed, but it will
(11:27):
be easier for them to not forgettheir language.
Um, because then once they startschool or once they're out in,
in the world, right, they'regonna lose that language.
And so, um.
I think with adding that intoplay and what you've been
saying, I think it is veryimportant to, you know, maybe
consider raising Spanish onlykids.
(11:48):
Um, I don't know what yourthoughts are.
Lucia (11:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
The, the reason why I thought itwas important to name it and,
and give it a name is because Isee so many moms doing it.
Jessica (11:57):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (11:58):
most important, and I would say hardest part right of
this stage
Jessica (12:02):
Yeah.
Lucia (12:02):
giving into the pressure.
Because even, you know, in myown family, my husband speaks
English, but my mom doesn't.
And she was looking at me whenmy son was a Spanish, what I
like to call a Spanish firstkid.
Uh, she was looking at me going.
And so it's so important.
(12:23):
There's so much pressure duringthat and that's what makes it
really hard, as moms.
So I think it's important thatwe give a name and we stay
confident in what we're doing,and that's why, uh, I love this
online community and I love thatwe're kind of talking about this
because it makes moms feel morecomfortable and more, um.
(12:44):
Kind of backed, right?
And, and give them the answersto give to these family members,
friends, people in general,because that everybody has an
opinion.
And so I think it's important tohave the information to know and
be confident that, you knowwhat, like this is the stage and
I'm going to really embrace thisbecause English will come quick
(13:04):
and when it does.
Jessica (13:05):
Yeah.
Lucia (13:05):
Sometimes it's hard to turn back from that.
Right?
And then you have the handful ofparents saying, and so in order
to get there, we have to seethis through, see
Jessica (13:19):
Yeah.
Lucia (13:20):
through to the other side.
Jessica (13:22):
Yeah.
I love it.
I love it.
And, and you mentioned a littlebit about mom's.
S perhaps feeling guilty becausethey don't do enough.
And I completely agree.
Right now I feel kind ofempowered, you know, just
because we're in this transitionof like moving to the
motherland, I'm not gonnastruggle as much.
(13:42):
Now I'm like, oh man, maybe I'mgonna struggle with the English
part.
And now we're gonna have toreverse our language plan.
Oftentimes, a lot of moms feelguilty because they're not doing
enough and raising, uh, youknow, Spanish dominant kids or
even like bilingual kids.
Um, or they regret not raisingthem bilingual.
(14:02):
And then as their kids getolder, they're like, oh, I
missed out.
Like, oh my gosh, I did such apoor job.
And so.
You know, what would you say toa mom that feels guilty about
either not incorporating enoughSpanish, whatever that means at
home, um, or worry that theirkids are going to lose their
language?
(14:22):
What would you tell a mom who'sstruggling with that bilingual
guilt?
I,
Lucia (14:26):
So first of all, I would say guilt means you care, right?
Which is
Jessica (14:29):
mm-hmm.
Lucia (14:31):
part of it and, and seeing it.
Uh, but guilt doesn't move theneedle.
So we have to do something thatreally moves the needle.
I think there's a bigself-consciousness aspect to
this.
I feel like I need so many momsthat like, esp this, or I don't,
I mind, it's just not goodenough, or they're just gonna
learn it wrong.
So first of all, I wanna say.
(14:51):
there's room to learn, learnalongside your child.
If you really feel that, that isone of the things holding you
back because you are modelingvery powerful language, learning
for your child, you're alsomodeling at the same time how
important this is to you.
It's so important to me that I'mgoing to do this with you and we
can do it together.
Right?
So
Jessica (15:10):
Yeah.
Lucia (15:11):
aspect.
Another big aspect is if, youare scared or you are worried
that they're gonna learn it.
to them in Spanish becausechildren are amazing at filling
in the gaps.
Jessica (15:25):
Hmm.
Lucia (15:26):
to them and you said a word wrong.
There's cartoons that are goingto, if you do, uh, any screen
time that are gonna fill in,there's audio content.
They're gonna hear it properly.
There.
There's music.
There's other people, right?
There are so many opportunitiesfor them to fill in those gaps
that saying, well, it's not goodenough for them.
They're gonna learn it wrong.
They're not going to learn itwrong.
(15:46):
They're hearing it in action.
They're creating a connection tothe language.
You're making it, you're makingit a priority.
And they see that priority.
See how important it is.
And so my, my advice would be,don't let that hold you back.
Jessica (16:00):
Yes,
Lucia (16:01):
hold you back.
Jessica (16:02):
absolutely.
Like there's no perfect manual,you know, in raising a bilingual
child.
Yes, there's resources.
Yes, there is a community outthere like you and, and me and,
and so many other.
Um, people that are active onsocial media specifically, but
there's also books, there'spodcasts, there's like a
plethora of like, resources outthere.
(16:26):
Like there isn't a specificright or wrong way of raising a
bilingual child.
And I love that you say that,you know, our kids are able to
fill in the gaps, and I totallyagree, like more English
dominant.
I would say since I was maybe 10years old, you know, because
that was all what I was exposedto in, in school.
(16:49):
And as you know, you know, kidsspend a lot of time in school
more than home.
And even though we did speakSpanish at, at home, uh,
specifically with my grandmawhen she used to babysit us like
she was our caregiver, um.
We would mostly speak, you know,half and half, uh, between
English and Spanish to myparents because they understood
(17:09):
it better.
They would still respond inSpanish.
And to say that.
And now us raising, um.
You know, Spanish first Spanishdominant children, you know, it
is very hard.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I don'teven know the word.
And so I'm here asking Siri onthe Quicks and the Siri is
Espanola Castano, you know.
(17:31):
And then Google Translate islike, I don't know what Google
Translate is, but I, you know,it's cute that my kids get to
see that.
That they know that I am notperfect.
And we're both learning thistogether.
Like the other day we werewatching Andre Leon and I was
like, oh.
(17:51):
And Diego was like, no, mommy.
And I'm just like, okay, that'sthe word.
Lucia (17:56):
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
That's exactly how it's supposedto be, I think at some point.
Right?
That's, I mean, that's our goal.
You know what I mean?
And it really comes to show thatyes, they do.
They really do fill in the gaps.
They're really amazing.
And I, I mean.
As long as you're supportingyourself, I feel like, and kind
of relying, we are lucky, right?
(18:17):
That we are in an era where wecan kind of rely on other
resources and we're not doing iton our own.
And that's what makes it acomplete picture for the child
as well, right?
And that's
Jessica (18:28):
Right.
Lucia (18:28):
in those gaps.
So I, I absolutely love that at.
Jessica (18:32):
Yeah.
That's awesome.
And can you share some likespecific strategies that have
worked for you and your familyand the families that you've
worked with as it relates toraising Spanish first kids?
I'm kind of curious,'cause youmentioned that your husband
doesn't speak Spanish Veda.
Yeah.
Lucia (18:48):
No.
So I'm gonna preface this bysaying, I, I, I always say that
the best strategy, is whateveryou're gonna be able to do long
term.
Right.
That's gonna be the beststrategy for your family because
consistency is the best thingfor children at the end of the
day.
So if you know already you'renot going to be able to stay
consistent, only speakingSpanish, then create those
(19:08):
spaces to do that where
Jessica (19:11):
Hmm.
Lucia (19:11):
you're gonna, like, I'm going to be able to do a bedtime
story every night and startthere.
Right?
Don't try to overwhelm yourself'cause you're gonna quit and
that's gonna make it much harderfor us.
Um, I always knew.
That I, I wanted the kids tospeak Spanish and so I only
speak Spanish to my children.
That's how I've always done it.
I speak it to them absolutely.
(19:32):
Everywhere I speak to mychildren, I always say as if
they didn't speak English.
That's how I talk to mychildren.
Jessica (19:38):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (19:38):
I kind of got stuck in
Jessica (19:39):
Yeah, me too.
Lucia (19:41):
for them to an extent.
Um.
And so that's just how I talk tothem.
My, my two and a half year oldis, say, understands English,
but he's still in the very earlystages of, of English.
He's, he's, both of my kids haveare chatters, so I'm with logos.
Uh, so they both talk from veryearly age and a lot.
(20:03):
But my, my 5-year-old when hewas about, I would say three.
After he had for very longspoken more Spanish than my
husband, like a lot better and alot more.
My husband was not understandinghim.
Then he took off in English andI.
Jessica (20:21):
Hmm.
Lucia (20:21):
has, that has been what works for us.
I never spoke English.
I still don't speak English tomy kids.
Uh, even at the dinner table, ifthe four of us are sitting
together, when I'm talking tothe kids, I'm speaking in
Spanish.
When I'm talking to my husband,I'm speaking English.
I had no idea I did this, by theway my sister visited last week.
She speaks both.
I struggle with her because sheis in, she's doing this thing
(20:46):
that I'm, that I'm talkingabout, which is.
She speaks English to the kidsin, almost in the fear that
they're not going to learnEnglish or like almost in, um,
trying to figure out how muchEnglish they know, which is
really, really interesting.
And when we're sitting at thetable, she switches to English.
And so we, you know, at thefourth dinner we're having, I
(21:07):
look at it and I'm like, why areyou talking English?
And she goes, well, you know,your husband is here.
And I'm like.
He's fine.
Like he, he's picked up a bunchalong the way.
He gets it contextually.
He's fine.
And he agreed with me, you know,which was really funny because I
never, it's just been such likea, like second nature that I
never even realized, like whennow that other people are coming
(21:29):
in and kind of like addressingthe whole table in English, I'm
like, huh, I, I never switchwith them.
so yes,
Jessica (21:38):
Hmm.
Lucia (21:38):
that stage where.
We, it, it's almostheartbreaking where you go to
the park and your child is, youknow, three and he's trying to
make friends and kids in thepark.
And I had kids look at my kidand go, I don't know what you're
saying.
Straight up.
So I always
Jessica (21:53):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (21:55):
I always translated for my kid.
I always made sure he was,'causekids at the end of the day do
understand themselves somehow.
It's, it's more those older kidsthat are like, I dunno
Jessica (22:04):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:05):
Um.
We homeschool.
So it's a little different forus in that regard.
Um, I have a lot of posts comingup about school, starting in
English, how to prepare.
I have parents on one handsaying, my kid's starting school
in English.
Is he gonna lose his Spanish?
And then the parents say, mykid's starting school in
English, but he doesn't speakEnglish.
(22:26):
What do I do?
You know?
So you have that duality and,and real situations that are
coming in, you know, differentperspectives on the same
situation.
Jessica (22:35):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:35):
in Spanish, so we kind of have that, um, kind of more
grace in a sense, right?
I can give myself a little bitmore grace in the, in the
Spanish only stage and kind ofextending that as far as I can.
but speaking Spanish is what Ihave done.
Like that would
Jessica (22:54):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:56):
The, the biggest recommendation, right?
My kids have
Jessica (22:59):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:59):
between me and my husband, and even I have parents
that come and say, well, myhusband also speaks Spanish.
Then where are they gonna hearEnglish?
You go to the store, you go tothe doctor, you, you, they hear
it from the park.
They like.
I have no concern that
Jessica (23:13):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (23:14):
are going to pick it up.
And once they do, like I said,sometimes it's hard looking
back.
So really embrace this, reallyembrace this bubble that they're
in at
Jessica (23:24):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (23:24):
moment, or that you can keep them in.
And then once they go out in theworld, like it comes really
fast.
So that
Jessica (23:31):
Right, right.
Absolutely.
And I think it's important toreflect on your own experience
too, like as, as a parent, uh,and especially if you are like
either first or secondgeneration, like not a couple
generations behind where you.
Like growing up you were exposedto the language and just
thinking about how you'vemastered English.
(23:52):
And I think that is always likethe issue, especially for the
older generations where they doworry about the new generation,
about, oh my gosh, like no, youknow, like they're gonna
struggle in school, they're notgonna interact with people well
and blah, blah, blah.
And it's like, I understand thatyou're coming from that place
because you came to this countryoutta survival.
You know, where you had toassimilate.
(24:15):
But now we're in this generationwhere, you know, we can do a
little bit of both or we canfocus on Spanish first and then
English because their worldaround them is English.
Um, at least here in the usright?
And so, um, I think at the endof the day, it all depends what
your intention is.
And I always talk aboutintentionality here on the
(24:36):
podcast and in this specifictopic about choosing to raise
Spanish first kids, I think.
Honestly, I think for, for us,like we always thought that we
would raise em bilingual.
So at first when Diego was likea couple months old, we were
like, okay, let's, let'stranslate.
Basically.
Like I was like, Shu, you know,and I honestly, that was very
(24:59):
tiring for me.
And I'm like, you know what?
I'm just gonna do Spanish only,like, and then we'll see how
this goes.
And since then, you know, we'veonly, we've been doing the same
thing as you, Lucia.
Like we, we are only speaking toour kids in Spanish.
They read Spanish books and eventhe ones, you know, I'm here
using my bilingual brain and I'mhere trying to translate these
(25:20):
books from English to Spanish,which is so hard.
Lucia (25:23):
Yes.
It.
Jessica (25:25):
And yeah.
Lucia (25:26):
And I think that's also part of the kind of, let's call
it the strategy, right?
Kind of surround
Jessica (25:31):
Yeah.
Lucia (25:32):
and, and your home environment with, with as much
as you can.
Because although there's a lotout there now, we're like big
library people and we got luckythat a library not very far from
here has a huge selection.
And I am, I just, I'm blownaway.
with the amount of Spanishbooks, which I'm amazed and I
love, but I still, you know, mykids reading chapter books and I
(25:53):
am lucky that I have had thepractice now to go from all the
board books to the early picturebooks and other chapter books,
translating on the fly, becausethat's sometimes,
Jessica (26:03):
Yeah.
Lucia (26:04):
what you have to do.
And
Jessica (26:06):
Right.
Lucia (26:06):
I am, you know, I can confidently say that my now
5-year-old speaks bothlanguages.
Perfectly fine.
He speaks to my husband inEnglish, he speaks to me in
Spanish, and we have establishedthat, you know, as the language
that we speak.
And so was my kind of like mymain focus and my main
(26:28):
intention, right?
Like.
a Spanish first kid doesn't meanEnglish is last.
It just means that intentionallyyou are putting Spanish first so
that you can create and growthose roots.
Like I said, because English iseverywhere and Spanish comes
from you,
Jessica (26:43):
Right.
Lucia (26:44):
right?
So.
Jessica (26:46):
No, that's amazing.
I, I love it and I'm glad thatwe, you know, even though it can
feel like we're doing a lot.
Like of work, there is a lot of,um, like mental labor involved
in this.
Just the fact that we have totranslate books or the fact that
we.
Are being cognizant of our kids,whether they're gonna be made
(27:09):
fun of or bullied, you know, inthe playground or like being
intentional of like searchingfor a bilingual community.
And so it is very hard thatoftentimes mamas, um, that are
either raising monolingualchildren or, you know, that
don't wanna raise bilingualkids.
Like they don't get toexperience that compared to.
(27:29):
With us, you know, that we'rejust on the lookout all the time
and trying to figure out whatare the best, uh, toys in this
case, you know, with what arethe best resources, what are the
best, you know, um, just likeopportunities for our kids to
not only be immersed, but to be,to feel like they have a sense
of identity too.
(27:49):
Right?
And, and it is very hard so.
What are the biggest challengesthat you think that, um, mamas
are facing when trying tomaintain Spanish at home and how
can they stay confident?
Even when it feels like it'ssuper overwhelming?
Lucia (28:07):
I think one of the
Jessica (28:08):
I.
Lucia (28:08):
challenges would be the, there's so much pressure and
misinformation and, confusionstill surrounding this.
this stage that I thinkintroducing English too soon is
still a challenge.
I would say.
I mean, you, you were saying ityourself, right?
You were translating bothbecause you thought, you know,
(28:31):
I'm gonna help'em.
Right?
And so I think that's still oneof the biggest, I'm gonna call
it one of the biggest hurdles ingetting the finish line, right?
So my advice on that would be,see this stage through.
Be intentional about it, youthrough, because it is so
shortlived.
(28:52):
I mean, we're talking months,right?
That
Jessica (28:55):
Yeah.
Lucia (28:56):
are going to be, they're still, uh, gathering English.
They're still processing it.
They might not be speaking it,but it's all in there.
Be patient with them, give themtime and they're gonna blow you
away.
it is key.
That we stay the course.
Like I tell
Jessica (29:15):
Mm.
Lucia (29:15):
all the time, just hold on because they're going to
shock you.
hold on, be patient with them.
And the other thing, I thinkfeeling isolated is a big one
because for some reason, even inthis era of social media, we all
feel like we're on this islanddoing these things like we're
talking about.
So what you're doing and whatwe're doing of like creating a
community and really making momsfeel heard.
(29:38):
I think in itself is reallyhelpful.
Um, and surrounding yourself,like you were saying by parents
that are going through the samething as much as possible.
I couldn't.
I mean, I was, like I said, inOhio, um, and it was tough.
It was tough because are a lotof times that there isn't, there
isn't even an opportunity tocreate that.
Um, and I had to be.
(29:58):
Very, I'm talking like driveover an hour intentional to be
able to create those pockets,you know, for my kids.
And so I think that's a big onetoo.
Uh, feeling isolated will makeyou wanna quit at times.
Um, but rely on the advice thatwe're giving you rely on other
moms, um, and again, and see itthrough.
(30:20):
It's just, it's night and daydifference and it is so
Jessica (30:24):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love it.
Thank you for sharing that.
And I think it, uh, affirmsmamas that they're, they
shouldn't do this alone.
That there is a community outthere.
And even if you don't have aphysical community with you,
because I get it, like, youknow, I have the privilege of
being in Chicago, right?
This is one of the reasons whywe moved from the suburbs of
(30:45):
Chicago to the city because ofthe dual language schools and
opportunities that are here now.
We're obviously moving at thetime of this recording.
Whenever we're ready to return,we know that, um, our kids will
be in a dual language school, sothat means that they're still
gonna keep up with the language,um, and then be, immersed in
(31:08):
English eventually.
But you know, considering thatthere are.
Um, depending on where you live,right there, it can be
challenging to find thatcommunity.
But the beauty of it, that thereis an online community, you
know, and, and you're verypresent on social media as well
as other mamas that are doingthe work in, in the world of
bilingualism.
(31:29):
And I think that it is soimportant to seek, uh, that
community.
Then that's when you feel likeyou are defeated or you feel
like you're not doing enough,you know, all the guilt comes in
and, um, but.
You know, there's still like abig population of people rooting
for you and supporting you alongthe way.
(31:50):
And so that's, that's what Ilove about this.
And for the mama who islistening, who feels like she's
like behind or hasn't beenconsistent speaking Spanish at
home to their, whatencouragement would you give
her?
And where should she starttoday?
Lucia (32:12):
So I think bilingualism doesn't have a, a deadline,
first of all.
Right?
So you have moms in all sorts ofsituations and.
Nuances to this conversation aswell that like affect, uh, how
we pass on our language orwhether we do it or not really.
Um, but what I would say is if,if you have a, a small child, a
(32:34):
baby.
Just start, start speaking thelanguage.
They're, again, they're notgonna be confused.
They're not going to be, if youfeel uncomfortable, start
introducing it Slowly.
Boost small swaps, say 10minutes a day, start speaking
it.
I think it's also a comfortthing from the mother's part.
A lot of moms I get say, well, Ijust don't feel comfortable
(32:54):
speaking it, or that's just notmy, you know, my language of
love, they say a lot of thetimes.
And so I.
Start small, start a few minutesa day, start in a certain time
of your day, right?
And the back plan, like I wassaying, do a bedtime story and
start there and grow from there.
As you feel confident, as theyfeel more confident, start going
from there.
(33:14):
Um, and if you're not confident,you know, learn alongside your
child.
Like I said, it's really, reallybig and.
It's, it's just great modelingto be able to learn with
something with your child.
I mean, like I said, Ihomeschool and I can't tell you
how many things I have to learn.
I have had to learn to lovebugs, which is a huge one
because like that is definitelynot for me.
(33:37):
Um, and lastly.
Pushback welcome because ourchildren will eventually, my
5-year-old who has now learnedEnglish is growing and is
starting to, uh, count, I'mgonna say try to fit in right in
certain situations becausesocially, children from a very
young age want to fit in, rightfor, for survival.
(33:58):
Really, that's how they'rewired.
Jessica (34:01):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (34:01):
so see him start to kind of switch with me and some
advice for that would be.
Which is huge.
Be playful.
The same playfulness that we'llbring into parenting when we get
resistance.
that playfulness into languagelearning, right?
So, uh, something that worksreally well with my 5-year-old,
because he loves robots.
switch to English and I'll say,oh.
(34:28):
And he immediately kind of like,he laughs and he goes back and
sometimes like if I'll be sayingsomething and I'll say an
English word, he'll tell me thesame thing, right?
And so I have an opportunity tokind of like think about the
word and then do my fullsentence and in Spanish.
So again, just those littleplayful things that really help
keep it light because once itfeels like a chore and pressure
(34:50):
for everybody, then it's just,it's not fun.
And so keeping it like keepingit fun and bringing that
connection back into languagelearning, I think is really
important because pushback will.
Jessica (35:01):
Oh yeah.
Right, right.
Absolutely.
No, thank you for sharing that.
And I love that you mentionedthat it's never too late and,
and, and I think that for.
Kids who are either second, eventhird or maybe fourth
generation, like I, they arestill exposed in some capacity
of like the Spanish language.
(35:23):
Whether if they're hearing itfrom like their great aunts or
you know, like their BI orwhatever, like they still hear
the language and they're still alittle bit of bilingualism in
them.
And.
And, and I see this often withmy little cousins, with my niece
and nephew who are Englishdominant.
You know, they don't speakSpanish.
(35:43):
But now that my kids are aroundand because that's the only
language that they know, I mean,Espanol is the only thing that
they know.
Um, they have to interact withthem.
And, and it's so interestingseeing my niece specifically
because she doesn't speakSpanish.
Like, based on my sister'swords, right.
But when she interacts with mykids, yeah.
(36:08):
You know, she struggles, but sheunderstands.
And, and I think that's thebeauty that even if you feel
like your kids are fullydisconnected, no, they, they
still have it in them, but itjust depends on what your
intention is as a parent and.
And trying to meet them in a waywhere, okay, well maybe they
(36:32):
weren't exposed to Spanish inthe beginning, but now how can
we incorporate this?
Maybe we can watch a movie oncea week that's only in Spanish,
or we can listen to music on theway to school.
Like these are just littlethings that you can.
Implement, even though if youthink that your kid has quote
unquote lost the language,because I don't think that's
true.
At least for, you know, us, thatlike Latinos, for some reason,
(36:54):
we love to keep our ura, we loveto keep, you know, our music,
our language, and that is stillthat connection with Spanish.
I don't know what your thoughtsare, but.
Lucia (37:03):
No, absolutely, and I think there's also a piece of.
Children are always absorbing,right?
And they're always acquiringlanguage even if it's in a
passive stage.
So they might not be speakingit, but I mean, it's a great
example.
Your niece here who hasobviously acquired enough of the
language to even put a sentencetogether, which is huge.
(37:26):
So they already have a legstart, you know, that's
something she was interested in.
There are so many online classesnow, you know, if, if the parent
doesn't wanna.
Speak it, starting with an olderchild.
There's so many YouTube channelsnow.
There's so many languagelearning activities and online
things that you can do, and so Ifeel like we're in a really
exciting time becausebilingualism is finally, I'm
(37:48):
gonna say finally valued.
And appreciated and seen as anasset.
Jessica (37:52):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (37:53):
that has brought with it a lot of resources for parents,
even of older children who maybethey didn't start in the
beginning when it is easier, I'mgonna say, but they're starting
now.
Uh, and there, there's a placeto start, you know?
So
Jessica (38:07):
Yeah.
Lucia (38:08):
exciting time in that regard.
Jessica (38:10):
Yes, I agree.
Well, tell us about your journeyabout, uh, Pato Pato and what
really inspired to build thisbusiness and, and specifically
for bilingual families.
Lucia (38:22):
So as I got started out of kind of my need to have
resources, like I said, I, Ipersonally homeschool my child
and I wanted resources thatreally promoted by literacy.
I'm promoted learning in Spanishfor those Spanish first kids,
right?
I see a lot of toys out there.
That either are in English,which is all of them, or they
(38:42):
only promote kind of like oneword learning.
I'm gonna say kind of one ofwords.
Um, and I wanted something thatreally encouraged children to
think in the language.
and that was also tactile andfun and wasn't screen-based
because there are apps outthere.
But I haven't seen anything tosupport hands-on learning for
(39:03):
the Spanish first child thatwe're talking about.
And so we kind of set out onthis journey, uh, to create a
series of toys that supported.
It started as biliteracy toteach children how to read in
Spanish, and then it kind ofspun into math, science, social,
emotional learning, everythingreally to support either the
(39:24):
parent who is homeschooling orthe parent who maybe sends their
kids to school but wants tosupport that learning in Spanish
at home.
Kind of like parallel teach sothat the child is, uh, supported
in the language and kindalearning the same.
Topics and themes and vocabularyalso in Spanish at home, right?
So that was really important forus.
(39:45):
Um, and I kind of wanted toempower the parents to do it in
a way that's convenient and easyfor them so that they felt, uh,
that they hadn't, that theydidn't have to go out of their
way to not only find theseresources, which is what has
happened a lot of the times, butalso to teach these concepts,
which sometimes it might feeloverwhelming, right?
It's like, well, I don't knowall the animal habitats.
(40:07):
In Spanish, like they teach'emthat in school.
How can
Jessica (40:10):
Yeah.
Lucia (40:10):
easy for you so that the child's also learning them in
Spanish and you're supportingthat growth in both languages
and kind of balancing thescales, I like to call it.
And so what set out to be, um, ashort journey has become a very
long one, uh, between theKickstarter that we did last
year and then, uh, the tariffsthat came this year that hit us
(40:32):
like.
Out of nowhere, um, we've
Jessica (40:35):
Mm.
Lucia (40:35):
taken that time to reimagine what the toys are
gonna look like, to be able tobring them to more people, make
it more accessible becausethere's such, uh, kind of custom
toys that they are
Jessica (40:46):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (40:47):
harder to produce and more, more custom.
And so worked through that andsome of those kinks and we're
hoping that by sooner than theend of the year, we'll be able
to bring it to market.
So I'm super excited.
Um.
what really, what really startedas a journey to make toys has
become so much more about addingvalue to the community and
(41:12):
bringing people together,bringing resources together,
making parents feel heard.
And just keeping Spanish aliveaway, you know, giving those
parents confidence so that theyknow that the choices that
they're making are, are theright choices.
They're correct.
Their, their gut is right.
You know, I always get parents,so yeah, I, I kind knew that
(41:32):
this is what I should be doing,but like, I just felt, you know,
my mom was saying my dad or likemy in-laws or my husband, and
it's like.
Giving them that confidence to,to keep going.
And I think that's huge.
Jessica (41:44):
Yes,
Lucia (41:44):
it's been so much bigger than toys is what I'm trying to
say.
Jessica (41:48):
yes.
I love it.
I love it.
And going back to the mentalload and everything, like I
think that I.
It takes a lot of intention, alot of time and effort to really
even think about how can wecreate an environment for our
kids and in this aspect of toys,right?
Like it's really hard to find.
(42:08):
Toys that aren't so direct inEnglish.
For example, LA right, wherethey have like the little
packaging of like cereal and youknow, I guess like it's labeled
like brownies and you know, uh,I guess spaghetti is universal,
but you know, just like thosetypes of words.
Yeah.
You know, and then my kid askedme and I'm like, and so it's
(42:34):
really hard, you know, to.
Find toys that are inclusive inthat way.
Um, and seeing the language.
And even if, if the toys, let'sjust say like in this case, you
know, the little box with thebrownies image, if kids don't
see the heritage language, thenagain it just doesn't help
empower them and to feel likethey are a part of, you know,
(42:59):
the process.
Lucia (43:00):
right.
It is.
I have a 5-year-old who's nowreading.
Right.
And we, we come across this allthe time.
It is just about adding to thatecosystem.
To balance the scales, tosupport the home language and
the minority language in a waythat when they're seeing things
around the house, they're alsofeeling like that's part of
their identity.
(43:21):
They're
Jessica (43:21):
Yes.
Lucia (43:22):
in that half of themselves to an extent.
Um, because yes, we come across,I mean, I can tell even with
books right now, it's beendifficult because my, my
5-year-old reads the words andhe's like, well, but this one,
or That's not what you said.
And I'm like, I know becausethis book's in English.
And so we've kind of had to workthrough that.
But I love that we can bringsomething to homes that is going
(43:44):
to support that and make it,like you said, make it easier on
the parent, um, to be able to intheir home language.
Really, I
Jessica (43:53):
Yes.
Lucia (43:54):
is what I say.
These toys are not to teachSpanish.
They are
Jessica (43:58):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (43:59):
in Spanish.
Jessica (44:00):
Yes.
I love it.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited andI've seen you grow and, and
really bring this out, um, and.
What better way, you know, tosupport a Latina owned business,
a business that is veryintentional in helping parents
raise Spanish first or bilingualkids.
(44:21):
And I think that that is veryimportant.
I cannot wait to see yourjourney, especially as once the
products are out.
I am so excited for that.
Um, even in Mexico, I thinkthey, they, they still have like
English only toys and I'm justlike, what's going on?
Lucia (44:37):
that's where I get my stuff when, you know, when I go
to Mexico and I'm, it's likestill the Melissa and dog toys
that
Jessica (44:43):
Yes.
Lucia (44:43):
the stores, you know, like, and I'm like, what?
Like what is No, you're supposedto be, oh my gosh.
Jessica (44:49):
I know.
I know.
So here's your sign.
Maybe you can sell your to inMexico, just saying
Lucia (44:55):
Here we come.
Jessica (44:56):
Yes.
Well, Lucia, I have one finalquestion for you and how are you
redefining Madre Hood?
Lucia (45:03):
Um, I would say that I'm really loud.
I'm always kind of the loudestin the room and the way I'm
redefining my own motherhood isby.
And in this topic that we'retalking about is by being the,
being the loudest in the room inmy own language, right?
I don't apologize for speakingSpanish to my kids.
I don't change or switch becausestrangers are around that don't
(45:26):
understand us.
And by doing that, I feel likenot only am I redefine medical
code for me, but there arepeople around that you might
inspire and you never know thatmight, you know, be too shy to
speak it or self-conscious or,and, and you never know who
you're inspiring around you.
And I think.
Those people are more importantthan the people that might judge
you for doing that, so
Jessica (45:47):
Yeah.
Lucia (45:48):
on that.
Jessica (45:49):
Oh my gosh, I love it.
I never saw it that way.
And it's just basically beingyour authentic self.
And I think that that will, likeyour kids will see that and
already know that, and I loveit.
So thank you so much for sharingthat.
Yes.
Well, Lucia, where can peopleconnect with you?
Where can people follow you andalso support your business?
Lucia (46:13):
Uh, we are at Play Patto on Instagram.
Uh, we are at play patto pattocom online.
Right now.
We are having people sign up,uh, to get a discount on the
toys when they come out.
We will announce it to our, youknow, through our newsletter and
obviously also on our, on ourInstagram.
So come out there.
We have a broadcast channelwhere we're talking about these
(46:35):
topics all the time, and kind ofsupporting parents one-on-one
and sharing resources, you know,because that's what parents, I
feel like, to get the mostresources on how to keep this
going, and eventually our toys.
So
Jessica (46:48):
Yes.
Well, Lucia, thank you so muchfor being on the show.
I really appreciate it.
It's very empowering, uh, to bewith other maas who are doing
the work.
And again, the essence of havingcommunity, I.
Not just with any mamas, becauseI know that it's important to
have a variety, but also beingintentional of who you talk to,
(47:08):
you know, and that way you don'tfeel isolated in this journey
and raising, bilingual kids.
And so thank you so much for forbeing here and for sharing your
wisdom./
the first three years or four, of a child's life is so
(00:05):
crucial if you wannaintentionally raise them
bilingual.
Lucia (00:09):
I like to call the Spanish only stage, that stage
where our children, whether, youknow, one parent or both parents
are speaking to'em in Spanishonly.
Yes.
As they're growing up, sincetheir babies, are only seeing
Spanish, right?
So it's right before all theoutside influences come in and
they start picking up Englishbecause when English takes over
it does it really fast.
And so what makes that stagereally crucial, and it is
(00:31):
actually research fact, is thatwhat we're doing is we're giving
Spanish a head start.
once English takes over, Spanishhas really strong roots and
we're able to carry thatbilingualism longer into their
lives rather than just doingboth languages from the
beginning.
When a child speaks Spanishfirst, which is a minority
language, I think it's reallyimportant that we give its place
(00:54):
to the minority language and wegive it that head start, so it
will stick.
Jessica (00:57):
And I think that as they are bilingual, essentially
they will be able to identify usthat way.
It's so important to raise themin just the minority language
first.
And so, I think with adding thatinto play and what you've been
saying, I think it is veryimportant to, consider raising
(01:18):
Spanish only kids.
(02:26):
Ola.
Ola Miga.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Viva la Mami Podcast.
I'm your host, Jessica Cuevas,and today I have a very special
guest on the show.
Her name is Lucia Garrett.
She is the founder of Pato Pato,which is, oh my gosh, I think
that it is.
So nuanced because it is acommunity of bilingual parents,
(02:48):
um, interactive toys and reallygreat resources that she offers
on Instagram.
I feel very privileged andhonored whenever she tags me in
her posts I think that it isvery important to build
community among bilingualparents because we shouldn't do
this alone.
And so part of our conversationwill be about that as far as
(03:10):
with how to raise bilingual kidsspecifically in the Spanish only
stage, which I'm very excited totalk about.
Um, because as you know, I'mraising Spanish dominant
children at.
This time since they're reallylittle and I think there's a
very key importance in doingthat.
Uh, but we're gonna focus onLucia's business.
So Lucia, thank you so much forbeing on the show.
(03:30):
I really appreciate it.
Lucia (03:32):
Thank you so much for having me, and like you said, I
think it's amazing that, that,you know, I can be here and be
part of your community too and,and say hi to the people that
follow you and kind of touch onall of these things that we
don't have in common.
I feel like a lot of the timeswe feel a little isolated and
it's important to know thatthere are other moms, you know,
doing the same thing as us.
So it's amazing to be here andthank you.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_09114 (03:54):
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you.
Well, Lucia, before we delveinto the conversation, if you
can introduce yourself to ourlisteners.
Tell us a little bit more aboutyou, where you live, where you
grew up, your family, LAA
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2025 (04:06):
I was born in Argentina, in Buenos
Aires.
Uh, when I was two, uh, myfamily moved to Mexico City and
so I consider myself Mexican.
I'm an honorary Mexican.
Uh, every time anybody asks me,you know where I'm from.
I'm from Mexico, and so that's,that's my, that's my people.
And I was there, um, until Iwas.
17 speaking.
(04:26):
No English, by the way.
Moved to uh, LA My dad's in themusic business, and so he had
opportunities in la Um, and sohe took'em.
He, he wanted to be out there.
He was traveling out there alot, so we moved there.
And I started my senior year inhigh school, uh, haven't read,
(04:46):
uh, the Call of the Wild and allof the class like fumbling my
way through the classics inEnglish.
And that's the English that Iknew, you know.
And so I got to school andpeople talked to me and I had no
idea what they were saying.
And um, that was really tough.
'cause obviously senior year,you know, everybody already has
their friends and their groupsand their cliques and stuff.
(05:08):
And it was such a culture shocktoo, because it's.
All of those things that I hadseen in movies, like were real,
there were all of these likecliques and groups.
And I got lucky that I found agroup of Latino kids actually,
um, that were, that I becamereally close with all of them
from different places in LatinAmerica, which was awesome too.
(05:29):
And I became really close withthem and got, you know, got
through that last year of highschool.
Then I started college rightaway.
Um, after college, I.
I started working at anadvertising agency, which was
kind of my dream job and it wasan advertising agency that took
all of the American clients buttranslated all the stuff for
(05:50):
them and worked with'em inSpanish, which was just amazing
'cause I got to work with thesereally big clients, but doing it
in Spanish.
So it was the best of bothworlds.
Um,
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (06:00):
Yeah.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2 (06:00):
then
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0 (06:01):
awesome.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-20 (06:02):
met my husband at my following
agency and together.
we Start our own, uh, eventmarketing agency, and then we,
uh.
Shortly after moved toCincinnati to get married.
We got married there.
We also had our wedding inArgentina.
'cause my grandma was 92 and shecouldn't travel.
And it was important to me that,you know, my family out there
(06:22):
was a part, it's, it's hard withvisas and stuff in Argentina to
travel out here.
And it was important for me thatthey were a part of a
celebration too, plus.
Really be able to party outthere.
You know how it is.
It's just different and so muchfun.
(06:44):
Um, so we had our wedding outthere too, and then we were in
Cincinnati.
We have both of our kids outthere and now we, the, the wind
has blown us over to northwestArkansas where we've been for
three months.
It's been really amazing.
It's just a really, there's alot more of a Hispanic community
here, which I love for the kids.
(07:04):
I just love that we can go tothe park and somebody else is
like speaking Spanish to theirkids.
It's it like, it like makes myheart happy because we were
really rural in Ohio.
Um, and I, I mean, we were notexposed to that at all.
There's just not that much, um,that much of a community out
there.
So it's been really, really coolto kind of like see the kids.
(07:26):
Um.
React to that and be a part ofthat is just really exciting.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_091 (07:31):
That's awesome.
Well, thank you for sharing yourstory.
I had no idea that you were bornin Argentina
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2 (07:37):
Yes, I know.
It's like I,
jessica_1_06-14-2025_091143 (07:39):
in Mexico.
squadcaster-04e5_1_06-14-2025 (07:40):
I know my parents still kind of,
my parents still talk likeArgentinians, but I never c
Mexico, I just never like itnever stuck.
Like that's just, yeah.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (07:51):
Yeah, yeah, you were little and, and
that, that's what's interesting,but that like, depending on
where people are raised and whattheir environment is, it really
makes an impact in terms oflike, knows, like their
squadcaster-04e5_1_06- (08:04):
Totally.
And even culturally, I mean, Ilearned, you know, I learned
Mexican history, I learned the,I learned all of that from
Mexico.
So that is, that's just my, it'slike an adoptive parent.
You know what I mean?
That's my country.
I, it's hard to explain, butYeah.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-14-2025_0911 (08:23):
Yeah.
Well, you talk about the Spanishonly stage, and I'm very
curious.
To learn more about that, justbecause I love how, you know,
when you put words into place,you are able to then identify
like, oh, this is what we havebeen utilizing into practice,
you know, to, name it or titleit.
(08:45):
Right.
And so I, I would love for youto explain what Spanish only
sage means and
Jessica (08:51):
why it's so important for Latina moms, um, to utilize
this in that period of theirkids' lives?
Lucia (08:59):
Totally.
So I, I like to call the Spanishonly stage, uh, that stage where
our children, whether, you know,one parent or both parents are
speaking to'em in Spanish only.
Yes.
As they're growing up, sincetheir babies, um, are only
seeing Spanish, right?
So it's right before all theoutside influences come in and
they start picking up Englishbecause when English takes over
it does it really fast.
(09:21):
And so what makes that stagereally crucial, and it is
actually research fact, is thatwhat we're doing is we're giving
Spanish a head start.
Jessica (09:29):
Hmm.
Lucia (09:29):
once English takes over, Spanish has really strong roots
and we're able to carry thatbilingualism longer into their
lives rather than just doingboth languages from the
beginning.
When a child speaks Spanishfirst, which is a minority
language, soon it won't be foryou.
But right now, right being inthe US, I think it's really
(09:49):
important that we give its placeto the minority language and we
give it that head start, so itwill stick.
Jessica (09:56):
Yeah.
That's amazing and, and it makesso much sense and, and I.
Uh, the way that I've beeninterpreting it is like they are
Spanish dominant and I just lovewhat, what you're mentioning,
like how you're, I don't know ifyou coined it or whatever, but
the Spanish only stage.
I think that's really cool and Ithink that that is so important.
(10:17):
Um, Mateo is part of a researchstudy.
A part of Loyola University inChicago.
And right now being that we arelocal, what the researchers do
is that they visit us and theydo this kind of like, um,
session where they record, theyinter, they, they record our
interactions.
They, uh, utilize play-basedlike, uh, research where, you
(10:42):
know, they present some toys andthen we like play with the toys
and just really understandinghow we're interacting with our
kids and.
Based on their research andright now they're like expanding
on it more and they're trying tocollect more people, you know,
to participate in that research.
But based on what they'vediscovered so far is that the
first three years or four, um,of a child's life is so crucial
(11:06):
if you wanna intentionally raisethem bilingual.
And I think that as they arebilingual, um, essentially they
will be able to identify us thatway.
It's so important to raise themin just the minority language
first.
Um, because as you know, they'llbe fully immersed, but it will
(11:27):
be easier for them to not forgettheir language.
Um, because then once they startschool or once they're out in,
in the world, right, they'regonna lose that language.
And so, um.
I think with adding that intoplay and what you've been
saying, I think it is veryimportant to, you know, maybe
consider raising Spanish onlykids.
(11:48):
Um, I don't know what yourthoughts are.
Lucia (11:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
The, the reason why I thought itwas important to name it and,
and give it a name is because Isee so many moms doing it.
Jessica (11:57):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (11:58):
most important, and I would say hardest part right of
this stage
Jessica (12:02):
Yeah.
Lucia (12:02):
giving into the pressure.
Because even, you know, in myown family, my husband speaks
English, but my mom doesn't.
And she was looking at me whenmy son was a Spanish, what I
like to call a Spanish firstkid.
Uh, she was looking at me going.
And so it's so important.
(12:23):
There's so much pressure duringthat and that's what makes it
really hard, as moms.
So I think it's important thatwe give a name and we stay
confident in what we're doing,and that's why, uh, I love this
online community and I love thatwe're kind of talking about this
because it makes moms feel morecomfortable and more, um.
(12:44):
Kind of backed, right?
And, and give them the answersto give to these family members,
friends, people in general,because that everybody has an
opinion.
And so I think it's important tohave the information to know and
be confident that, you knowwhat, like this is the stage and
I'm going to really embrace thisbecause English will come quick
(13:04):
and when it does.
Jessica (13:05):
Yeah.
Lucia (13:05):
Sometimes it's hard to turn back from that.
Right?
And then you have the handful ofparents saying, and so in order
to get there, we have to seethis through, see
Jessica (13:19):
Yeah.
Lucia (13:20):
through to the other side.
Jessica (13:22):
Yeah.
I love it.
I love it.
And, and you mentioned a littlebit about mom's.
S perhaps feeling guilty becausethey don't do enough.
And I completely agree.
Right now I feel kind ofempowered, you know, just
because we're in this transitionof like moving to the
motherland, I'm not gonnastruggle as much.
(13:42):
Now I'm like, oh man, maybe I'mgonna struggle with the English
part.
And now we're gonna have toreverse our language plan.
Oftentimes, a lot of moms feelguilty because they're not doing
enough and raising, uh, youknow, Spanish dominant kids or
even like bilingual kids.
Um, or they regret not raisingthem bilingual.
(14:02):
And then as their kids getolder, they're like, oh, I
missed out.
Like, oh my gosh, I did such apoor job.
And so.
You know, what would you say toa mom that feels guilty about
either not incorporating enoughSpanish, whatever that means at
home, um, or worry that theirkids are going to lose their
language?
(14:22):
What would you tell a mom who'sstruggling with that bilingual
guilt?
I,
Lucia (14:26):
So first of all, I would say guilt means you care, right?
Which is
Jessica (14:29):
mm-hmm.
Lucia (14:31):
part of it and, and seeing it.
Uh, but guilt doesn't move theneedle.
So we have to do something thatreally moves the needle.
I think there's a bigself-consciousness aspect to
this.
I feel like I need so many momsthat like, esp this, or I don't,
I mind, it's just not goodenough, or they're just gonna
learn it wrong.
So first of all, I wanna say.
(14:51):
there's room to learn, learnalongside your child.
If you really feel that, that isone of the things holding you
back because you are modelingvery powerful language, learning
for your child, you're alsomodeling at the same time how
important this is to you.
It's so important to me that I'mgoing to do this with you and we
can do it together.
Right?
So
Jessica (15:10):
Yeah.
Lucia (15:11):
aspect.
Another big aspect is if, youare scared or you are worried
that they're gonna learn it.
to them in Spanish becausechildren are amazing at filling
in the gaps.
Jessica (15:25):
Hmm.
Lucia (15:26):
to them and you said a word wrong.
There's cartoons that are goingto, if you do, uh, any screen
time that are gonna fill in,there's audio content.
They're gonna hear it properly.
There.
There's music.
There's other people, right?
There are so many opportunitiesfor them to fill in those gaps
that saying, well, it's not goodenough for them.
They're gonna learn it wrong.
They're not going to learn itwrong.
(15:46):
They're hearing it in action.
They're creating a connection tothe language.
You're making it, you're makingit a priority.
And they see that priority.
See how important it is.
And so my, my advice would be,don't let that hold you back.
Jessica (16:00):
Yes,
Lucia (16:01):
hold you back.
Jessica (16:02):
absolutely.
Like there's no perfect manual,you know, in raising a bilingual
child.
Yes, there's resources.
Yes, there is a community outthere like you and, and me and,
and so many other.
Um, people that are active onsocial media specifically, but
there's also books, there'spodcasts, there's like a
plethora of like, resources outthere.
(16:26):
Like there isn't a specificright or wrong way of raising a
bilingual child.
And I love that you say that,you know, our kids are able to
fill in the gaps, and I totallyagree, like more English
dominant.
I would say since I was maybe 10years old, you know, because
that was all what I was exposedto in, in school.
(16:49):
And as you know, you know, kidsspend a lot of time in school
more than home.
And even though we did speakSpanish at, at home, uh,
specifically with my grandmawhen she used to babysit us like
she was our caregiver, um.
We would mostly speak, you know,half and half, uh, between
English and Spanish to myparents because they understood
(17:09):
it better.
They would still respond inSpanish.
And to say that.
And now us raising, um.
You know, Spanish first Spanishdominant children, you know, it
is very hard.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I don'teven know the word.
And so I'm here asking Siri onthe Quicks and the Siri is
Espanola Castano, you know.
(17:31):
And then Google Translate islike, I don't know what Google
Translate is, but I, you know,it's cute that my kids get to
see that.
That they know that I am notperfect.
And we're both learning thistogether.
Like the other day we werewatching Andre Leon and I was
like, oh.
(17:51):
And Diego was like, no, mommy.
And I'm just like, okay, that'sthe word.
Lucia (17:56):
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
That's exactly how it's supposedto be, I think at some point.
Right?
That's, I mean, that's our goal.
You know what I mean?
And it really comes to show thatyes, they do.
They really do fill in the gaps.
They're really amazing.
And I, I mean.
As long as you're supportingyourself, I feel like, and kind
of relying, we are lucky, right?
(18:17):
That we are in an era where wecan kind of rely on other
resources and we're not doing iton our own.
And that's what makes it acomplete picture for the child
as well, right?
And that's
Jessica (18:28):
Right.
Lucia (18:28):
in those gaps.
So I, I absolutely love that at.
Jessica (18:32):
Yeah.
That's awesome.
And can you share some likespecific strategies that have
worked for you and your familyand the families that you've
worked with as it relates toraising Spanish first kids?
I'm kind of curious,'cause youmentioned that your husband
doesn't speak Spanish Veda.
Yeah.
Lucia (18:48):
No.
So I'm gonna preface this bysaying, I, I, I always say that
the best strategy, is whateveryou're gonna be able to do long
term.
Right.
That's gonna be the beststrategy for your family because
consistency is the best thingfor children at the end of the
day.
So if you know already you'renot going to be able to stay
consistent, only speakingSpanish, then create those
(19:08):
spaces to do that where
Jessica (19:11):
Hmm.
Lucia (19:11):
you're gonna, like, I'm going to be able to do a bedtime
story every night and startthere.
Right?
Don't try to overwhelm yourself'cause you're gonna quit and
that's gonna make it much harderfor us.
Um, I always knew.
That I, I wanted the kids tospeak Spanish and so I only
speak Spanish to my children.
That's how I've always done it.
I speak it to them absolutely.
(19:32):
Everywhere I speak to mychildren, I always say as if
they didn't speak English.
That's how I talk to mychildren.
Jessica (19:38):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (19:38):
I kind of got stuck in
Jessica (19:39):
Yeah, me too.
Lucia (19:41):
for them to an extent.
Um.
And so that's just how I talk tothem.
My, my two and a half year oldis, say, understands English,
but he's still in the very earlystages of, of English.
He's, he's, both of my kids haveare chatters, so I'm with logos.
Uh, so they both talk from veryearly age and a lot.
(20:03):
But my, my 5-year-old when hewas about, I would say three.
After he had for very longspoken more Spanish than my
husband, like a lot better and alot more.
My husband was not understandinghim.
Then he took off in English andI.
Jessica (20:21):
Hmm.
Lucia (20:21):
has, that has been what works for us.
I never spoke English.
I still don't speak English tomy kids.
Uh, even at the dinner table, ifthe four of us are sitting
together, when I'm talking tothe kids, I'm speaking in
Spanish.
When I'm talking to my husband,I'm speaking English.
I had no idea I did this, by theway my sister visited last week.
She speaks both.
I struggle with her because sheis in, she's doing this thing
(20:46):
that I'm, that I'm talkingabout, which is.
She speaks English to the kidsin, almost in the fear that
they're not going to learnEnglish or like almost in, um,
trying to figure out how muchEnglish they know, which is
really, really interesting.
And when we're sitting at thetable, she switches to English.
And so we, you know, at thefourth dinner we're having, I
(21:07):
look at it and I'm like, why areyou talking English?
And she goes, well, you know,your husband is here.
And I'm like.
He's fine.
Like he, he's picked up a bunchalong the way.
He gets it contextually.
He's fine.
And he agreed with me, you know,which was really funny because I
never, it's just been such likea, like second nature that I
never even realized, like whennow that other people are coming
(21:29):
in and kind of like addressingthe whole table in English, I'm
like, huh, I, I never switchwith them.
so yes,
Jessica (21:38):
Hmm.
Lucia (21:38):
that stage where.
We, it, it's almostheartbreaking where you go to
the park and your child is, youknow, three and he's trying to
make friends and kids in thepark.
And I had kids look at my kidand go, I don't know what you're
saying.
Straight up.
So I always
Jessica (21:53):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (21:55):
I always translated for my kid.
I always made sure he was,'causekids at the end of the day do
understand themselves somehow.
It's, it's more those older kidsthat are like, I dunno
Jessica (22:04):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:05):
Um.
We homeschool.
So it's a little different forus in that regard.
Um, I have a lot of posts comingup about school, starting in
English, how to prepare.
I have parents on one handsaying, my kid's starting school
in English.
Is he gonna lose his Spanish?
And then the parents say, mykid's starting school in
English, but he doesn't speakEnglish.
(22:26):
What do I do?
You know?
So you have that duality and,and real situations that are
coming in, you know, differentperspectives on the same
situation.
Jessica (22:35):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:35):
in Spanish, so we kind of have that, um, kind of more
grace in a sense, right?
I can give myself a little bitmore grace in the, in the
Spanish only stage and kind ofextending that as far as I can.
but speaking Spanish is what Ihave done.
Like that would
Jessica (22:54):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:56):
The, the biggest recommendation, right?
My kids have
Jessica (22:59):
Yeah.
Lucia (22:59):
between me and my husband, and even I have parents
that come and say, well, myhusband also speaks Spanish.
Then where are they gonna hearEnglish?
You go to the store, you go tothe doctor, you, you, they hear
it from the park.
They like.
I have no concern that
Jessica (23:13):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (23:14):
are going to pick it up.
And once they do, like I said,sometimes it's hard looking
back.
So really embrace this, reallyembrace this bubble that they're
in at
Jessica (23:24):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (23:24):
moment, or that you can keep them in.
And then once they go out in theworld, like it comes really
fast.
So that
Jessica (23:31):
Right, right.
Absolutely.
And I think it's important toreflect on your own experience
too, like as, as a parent, uh,and especially if you are like
either first or secondgeneration, like not a couple
generations behind where you.
Like growing up you were exposedto the language and just
thinking about how you'vemastered English.
(23:52):
And I think that is always likethe issue, especially for the
older generations where they doworry about the new generation,
about, oh my gosh, like no, youknow, like they're gonna
struggle in school, they're notgonna interact with people well
and blah, blah, blah.
And it's like, I understand thatyou're coming from that place
because you came to this countryoutta survival.
You know, where you had toassimilate.
(24:15):
But now we're in this generationwhere, you know, we can do a
little bit of both or we canfocus on Spanish first and then
English because their worldaround them is English.
Um, at least here in the usright?
And so, um, I think at the endof the day, it all depends what
your intention is.
And I always talk aboutintentionality here on the
(24:36):
podcast and in this specifictopic about choosing to raise
Spanish first kids, I think.
Honestly, I think for, for us,like we always thought that we
would raise em bilingual.
So at first when Diego was likea couple months old, we were
like, okay, let's, let'stranslate.
Basically.
Like I was like, Shu, you know,and I honestly, that was very
(24:59):
tiring for me.
And I'm like, you know what?
I'm just gonna do Spanish only,like, and then we'll see how
this goes.
And since then, you know, we'veonly, we've been doing the same
thing as you, Lucia.
Like we, we are only speaking toour kids in Spanish.
They read Spanish books and eventhe ones, you know, I'm here
using my bilingual brain and I'mhere trying to translate these
(25:20):
books from English to Spanish,which is so hard.
Lucia (25:23):
Yes.
It.
Jessica (25:25):
And yeah.
Lucia (25:26):
And I think that's also part of the kind of, let's call
it the strategy, right?
Kind of surround
Jessica (25:31):
Yeah.
Lucia (25:32):
and, and your home environment with, with as much
as you can.
Because although there's a lotout there now, we're like big
library people and we got luckythat a library not very far from
here has a huge selection.
And I am, I just, I'm blownaway.
with the amount of Spanishbooks, which I'm amazed and I
love, but I still, you know, mykids reading chapter books and I
(25:53):
am lucky that I have had thepractice now to go from all the
board books to the early picturebooks and other chapter books,
translating on the fly, becausethat's sometimes,
Jessica (26:03):
Yeah.
Lucia (26:04):
what you have to do.
And
Jessica (26:06):
Right.
Lucia (26:06):
I am, you know, I can confidently say that my now
5-year-old speaks bothlanguages.
Perfectly fine.
He speaks to my husband inEnglish, he speaks to me in
Spanish, and we have establishedthat, you know, as the language
that we speak.
And so was my kind of like mymain focus and my main
(26:28):
intention, right?
Like.
a Spanish first kid doesn't meanEnglish is last.
It just means that intentionallyyou are putting Spanish first so
that you can create and growthose roots.
Like I said, because English iseverywhere and Spanish comes
from you,
Jessica (26:43):
Right.
Lucia (26:44):
right?
So.
Jessica (26:46):
No, that's amazing.
I, I love it and I'm glad thatwe, you know, even though it can
feel like we're doing a lot.
Like of work, there is a lot of,um, like mental labor involved
in this.
Just the fact that we have totranslate books or the fact that
we.
Are being cognizant of our kids,whether they're gonna be made
(27:09):
fun of or bullied, you know, inthe playground or like being
intentional of like searchingfor a bilingual community.
And so it is very hard thatoftentimes mamas, um, that are
either raising monolingualchildren or, you know, that
don't wanna raise bilingualkids.
Like they don't get toexperience that compared to.
(27:29):
With us, you know, that we'rejust on the lookout all the time
and trying to figure out whatare the best, uh, toys in this
case, you know, with what arethe best resources, what are the
best, you know, um, just likeopportunities for our kids to
not only be immersed, but to be,to feel like they have a sense
of identity too.
(27:49):
Right?
And, and it is very hard so.
What are the biggest challengesthat you think that, um, mamas
are facing when trying tomaintain Spanish at home and how
can they stay confident?
Even when it feels like it'ssuper overwhelming?
Lucia (28:07):
I think one of the
Jessica (28:08):
I.
Lucia (28:08):
challenges would be the, there's so much pressure and
misinformation and, confusionstill surrounding this.
this stage that I thinkintroducing English too soon is
still a challenge.
I would say.
I mean, you, you were saying ityourself, right?
You were translating bothbecause you thought, you know,
(28:31):
I'm gonna help'em.
Right?
And so I think that's still oneof the biggest, I'm gonna call
it one of the biggest hurdles ingetting the finish line, right?
So my advice on that would be,see this stage through.
Be intentional about it, youthrough, because it is so
shortlived.
(28:52):
I mean, we're talking months,right?
That
Jessica (28:55):
Yeah.
Lucia (28:56):
are going to be, they're still, uh, gathering English.
They're still processing it.
They might not be speaking it,but it's all in there.
Be patient with them, give themtime and they're gonna blow you
away.
it is key.
That we stay the course.
Like I tell
Jessica (29:15):
Mm.
Lucia (29:15):
all the time, just hold on because they're going to
shock you.
hold on, be patient with them.
And the other thing, I thinkfeeling isolated is a big one
because for some reason, even inthis era of social media, we all
feel like we're on this islanddoing these things like we're
talking about.
So what you're doing and whatwe're doing of like creating a
community and really making momsfeel heard.
(29:38):
I think in itself is reallyhelpful.
Um, and surrounding yourself,like you were saying by parents
that are going through the samething as much as possible.
I couldn't.
I mean, I was, like I said, inOhio, um, and it was tough.
It was tough because are a lotof times that there isn't, there
isn't even an opportunity tocreate that.
Um, and I had to be.
(29:58):
Very, I'm talking like driveover an hour intentional to be
able to create those pockets,you know, for my kids.
And so I think that's a big onetoo.
Uh, feeling isolated will makeyou wanna quit at times.
Um, but rely on the advice thatwe're giving you rely on other
moms, um, and again, and see itthrough.
(30:20):
It's just, it's night and daydifference and it is so
Jessica (30:24):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love it.
Thank you for sharing that.
And I think it, uh, affirmsmamas that they're, they
shouldn't do this alone.
That there is a community outthere.
And even if you don't have aphysical community with you,
because I get it, like, youknow, I have the privilege of
being in Chicago, right?
This is one of the reasons whywe moved from the suburbs of
(30:45):
Chicago to the city because ofthe dual language schools and
opportunities that are here now.
We're obviously moving at thetime of this recording.
Whenever we're ready to return,we know that, um, our kids will
be in a dual language school, sothat means that they're still
gonna keep up with the language,um, and then be, immersed in
(31:08):
English eventually.
But you know, considering thatthere are.
Um, depending on where you live,right there, it can be
challenging to find thatcommunity.
But the beauty of it, that thereis an online community, you
know, and, and you're verypresent on social media as well
as other mamas that are doingthe work in, in the world of
bilingualism.
(31:29):
And I think that it is soimportant to seek, uh, that
community.
Then that's when you feel likeyou are defeated or you feel
like you're not doing enough,you know, all the guilt comes in
and, um, but.
You know, there's still like abig population of people rooting
for you and supporting you alongthe way.
(31:50):
And so that's, that's what Ilove about this.
And for the mama who islistening, who feels like she's
like behind or hasn't beenconsistent speaking Spanish at
home to their, whatencouragement would you give
her?
And where should she starttoday?
Lucia (32:12):
So I think bilingualism doesn't have a, a deadline,
first of all.
Right?
So you have moms in all sorts ofsituations and.
Nuances to this conversation aswell that like affect, uh, how
we pass on our language orwhether we do it or not really.
Um, but what I would say is if,if you have a, a small child, a
(32:34):
baby.
Just start, start speaking thelanguage.
They're, again, they're notgonna be confused.
They're not going to be, if youfeel uncomfortable, start
introducing it Slowly.
Boost small swaps, say 10minutes a day, start speaking
it.
I think it's also a comfortthing from the mother's part.
A lot of moms I get say, well, Ijust don't feel comfortable
(32:54):
speaking it, or that's just notmy, you know, my language of
love, they say a lot of thetimes.
And so I.
Start small, start a few minutesa day, start in a certain time
of your day, right?
And the back plan, like I wassaying, do a bedtime story and
start there and grow from there.
As you feel confident, as theyfeel more confident, start going
from there.
(33:14):
Um, and if you're not confident,you know, learn alongside your
child.
Like I said, it's really, reallybig and.
It's, it's just great modelingto be able to learn with
something with your child.
I mean, like I said, Ihomeschool and I can't tell you
how many things I have to learn.
I have had to learn to lovebugs, which is a huge one
because like that is definitelynot for me.
(33:37):
Um, and lastly.
Pushback welcome because ourchildren will eventually, my
5-year-old who has now learnedEnglish is growing and is
starting to, uh, count, I'mgonna say try to fit in right in
certain situations becausesocially, children from a very
young age want to fit in, rightfor, for survival.
(33:58):
Really, that's how they'rewired.
Jessica (34:01):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (34:01):
so see him start to kind of switch with me and some
advice for that would be.
Which is huge.
Be playful.
The same playfulness that we'llbring into parenting when we get
resistance.
that playfulness into languagelearning, right?
So, uh, something that worksreally well with my 5-year-old,
because he loves robots.
switch to English and I'll say,oh.
(34:28):
And he immediately kind of like,he laughs and he goes back and
sometimes like if I'll be sayingsomething and I'll say an
English word, he'll tell me thesame thing, right?
And so I have an opportunity tokind of like think about the
word and then do my fullsentence and in Spanish.
So again, just those littleplayful things that really help
keep it light because once itfeels like a chore and pressure
(34:50):
for everybody, then it's just,it's not fun.
And so keeping it like keepingit fun and bringing that
connection back into languagelearning, I think is really
important because pushback will.
Jessica (35:01):
Oh yeah.
Right, right.
Absolutely.
No, thank you for sharing that.
And I love that you mentionedthat it's never too late and,
and, and I think that for.
Kids who are either second, eventhird or maybe fourth
generation, like I, they arestill exposed in some capacity
of like the Spanish language.
(35:23):
Whether if they're hearing itfrom like their great aunts or
you know, like their BI orwhatever, like they still hear
the language and they're still alittle bit of bilingualism in
them.
And.
And, and I see this often withmy little cousins, with my niece
and nephew who are Englishdominant.
You know, they don't speakSpanish.
(35:43):
But now that my kids are aroundand because that's the only
language that they know, I mean,Espanol is the only thing that
they know.
Um, they have to interact withthem.
And, and it's so interestingseeing my niece specifically
because she doesn't speakSpanish.
Like, based on my sister'swords, right.
But when she interacts with mykids, yeah.
(36:08):
You know, she struggles, but sheunderstands.
And, and I think that's thebeauty that even if you feel
like your kids are fullydisconnected, no, they, they
still have it in them, but itjust depends on what your
intention is as a parent and.
And trying to meet them in a waywhere, okay, well maybe they
(36:32):
weren't exposed to Spanish inthe beginning, but now how can
we incorporate this?
Maybe we can watch a movie oncea week that's only in Spanish,
or we can listen to music on theway to school.
Like these are just littlethings that you can.
Implement, even though if youthink that your kid has quote
unquote lost the language,because I don't think that's
true.
At least for, you know, us, thatlike Latinos, for some reason,
(36:54):
we love to keep our ura, we loveto keep, you know, our music,
our language, and that is stillthat connection with Spanish.
I don't know what your thoughtsare, but.
Lucia (37:03):
No, absolutely, and I think there's also a piece of.
Children are always absorbing,right?
And they're always acquiringlanguage even if it's in a
passive stage.
So they might not be speakingit, but I mean, it's a great
example.
Your niece here who hasobviously acquired enough of the
language to even put a sentencetogether, which is huge.
(37:26):
So they already have a legstart, you know, that's
something she was interested in.
There are so many online classesnow, you know, if, if the parent
doesn't wanna.
Speak it, starting with an olderchild.
There's so many YouTube channelsnow.
There's so many languagelearning activities and online
things that you can do, and so Ifeel like we're in a really
exciting time becausebilingualism is finally, I'm
(37:48):
gonna say finally valued.
And appreciated and seen as anasset.
Jessica (37:52):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (37:53):
that has brought with it a lot of resources for parents,
even of older children who maybethey didn't start in the
beginning when it is easier, I'mgonna say, but they're starting
now.
Uh, and there, there's a placeto start, you know?
So
Jessica (38:07):
Yeah.
Lucia (38:08):
exciting time in that regard.
Jessica (38:10):
Yes, I agree.
Well, tell us about your journeyabout, uh, Pato Pato and what
really inspired to build thisbusiness and, and specifically
for bilingual families.
Lucia (38:22):
So as I got started out of kind of my need to have
resources, like I said, I, Ipersonally homeschool my child
and I wanted resources thatreally promoted by literacy.
I'm promoted learning in Spanishfor those Spanish first kids,
right?
I see a lot of toys out there.
That either are in English,which is all of them, or they
(38:42):
only promote kind of like oneword learning.
I'm gonna say kind of one ofwords.
Um, and I wanted something thatreally encouraged children to
think in the language.
and that was also tactile andfun and wasn't screen-based
because there are apps outthere.
But I haven't seen anything tosupport hands-on learning for
(39:03):
the Spanish first child thatwe're talking about.
And so we kind of set out onthis journey, uh, to create a
series of toys that supported.
It started as biliteracy toteach children how to read in
Spanish, and then it kind ofspun into math, science, social,
emotional learning, everythingreally to support either the
(39:24):
parent who is homeschooling orthe parent who maybe sends their
kids to school but wants tosupport that learning in Spanish
at home.
Kind of like parallel teach sothat the child is, uh, supported
in the language and kindalearning the same.
Topics and themes and vocabularyalso in Spanish at home, right?
So that was really important forus.
(39:45):
Um, and I kind of wanted toempower the parents to do it in
a way that's convenient and easyfor them so that they felt, uh,
that they hadn't, that theydidn't have to go out of their
way to not only find theseresources, which is what has
happened a lot of the times, butalso to teach these concepts,
which sometimes it might feeloverwhelming, right?
It's like, well, I don't knowall the animal habitats.
(40:07):
In Spanish, like they teach'emthat in school.
How can
Jessica (40:10):
Yeah.
Lucia (40:10):
easy for you so that the child's also learning them in
Spanish and you're supportingthat growth in both languages
and kind of balancing thescales, I like to call it.
And so what set out to be, um, ashort journey has become a very
long one, uh, between theKickstarter that we did last
year and then, uh, the tariffsthat came this year that hit us
(40:32):
like.
Out of nowhere, um, we've
Jessica (40:35):
Mm.
Lucia (40:35):
taken that time to reimagine what the toys are
gonna look like, to be able tobring them to more people, make
it more accessible becausethere's such, uh, kind of custom
toys that they are
Jessica (40:46):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (40:47):
harder to produce and more, more custom.
And so worked through that andsome of those kinks and we're
hoping that by sooner than theend of the year, we'll be able
to bring it to market.
So I'm super excited.
Um.
what really, what really startedas a journey to make toys has
become so much more about addingvalue to the community and
(41:12):
bringing people together,bringing resources together,
making parents feel heard.
And just keeping Spanish aliveaway, you know, giving those
parents confidence so that theyknow that the choices that
they're making are, are theright choices.
They're correct.
Their, their gut is right.
You know, I always get parents,so yeah, I, I kind knew that
(41:32):
this is what I should be doing,but like, I just felt, you know,
my mom was saying my dad or likemy in-laws or my husband, and
it's like.
Giving them that confidence to,to keep going.
And I think that's huge.
Jessica (41:44):
Yes,
Lucia (41:44):
it's been so much bigger than toys is what I'm trying to
say.
Jessica (41:48):
yes.
I love it.
I love it.
And going back to the mentalload and everything, like I
think that I.
It takes a lot of intention, alot of time and effort to really
even think about how can wecreate an environment for our
kids and in this aspect of toys,right?
Like it's really hard to find.
(42:08):
Toys that aren't so direct inEnglish.
For example, LA right, wherethey have like the little
packaging of like cereal and youknow, I guess like it's labeled
like brownies and you know, uh,I guess spaghetti is universal,
but you know, just like thosetypes of words.
Yeah.
You know, and then my kid askedme and I'm like, and so it's
(42:34):
really hard, you know, to.
Find toys that are inclusive inthat way.
Um, and seeing the language.
And even if, if the toys, let'sjust say like in this case, you
know, the little box with thebrownies image, if kids don't
see the heritage language, thenagain it just doesn't help
empower them and to feel likethey are a part of, you know,
(42:59):
the process.
Lucia (43:00):
right.
It is.
I have a 5-year-old who's nowreading.
Right.
And we, we come across this allthe time.
It is just about adding to thatecosystem.
To balance the scales, tosupport the home language and
the minority language in a waythat when they're seeing things
around the house, they're alsofeeling like that's part of
their identity.
(43:21):
They're
Jessica (43:21):
Yes.
Lucia (43:22):
in that half of themselves to an extent.
Um, because yes, we come across,I mean, I can tell even with
books right now, it's beendifficult because my, my
5-year-old reads the words andhe's like, well, but this one,
or That's not what you said.
And I'm like, I know becausethis book's in English.
And so we've kind of had to workthrough that.
But I love that we can bringsomething to homes that is going
(43:44):
to support that and make it,like you said, make it easier on
the parent, um, to be able to intheir home language.
Really, I
Jessica (43:53):
Yes.
Lucia (43:54):
is what I say.
These toys are not to teachSpanish.
They are
Jessica (43:58):
Mm-hmm.
Lucia (43:59):
in Spanish.
Jessica (44:00):
Yes.
I love it.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited andI've seen you grow and, and
really bring this out, um, and.
What better way, you know, tosupport a Latina owned business,
a business that is veryintentional in helping parents
raise Spanish first or bilingualkids.
(44:21):
And I think that that is veryimportant.
I cannot wait to see yourjourney, especially as once the
products are out.
I am so excited for that.
Um, even in Mexico, I thinkthey, they, they still have like
English only toys and I'm justlike, what's going on?
Lucia (44:37):
that's where I get my stuff when, you know, when I go
to Mexico and I'm, it's likestill the Melissa and dog toys
that
Jessica (44:43):
Yes.
Lucia (44:43):
the stores, you know, like, and I'm like, what?
Like what is No, you're supposedto be, oh my gosh.
Jessica (44:49):
I know.
I know.
So here's your sign.
Maybe you can sell your to inMexico, just saying
Lucia (44:55):
Here we come.
Jessica (44:56):
Yes.
Well, Lucia, I have one finalquestion for you and how are you
redefining Madre Hood?
Lucia (45:03):
Um, I would say that I'm really loud.
I'm always kind of the loudestin the room and the way I'm
redefining my own motherhood isby.
And in this topic that we'retalking about is by being the,
being the loudest in the room inmy own language, right?
I don't apologize for speakingSpanish to my kids.
I don't change or switch becausestrangers are around that don't
(45:26):
understand us.
And by doing that, I feel likenot only am I redefine medical
code for me, but there arepeople around that you might
inspire and you never know thatmight, you know, be too shy to
speak it or self-conscious or,and, and you never know who
you're inspiring around you.
And I think.
Those people are more importantthan the people that might judge
you for doing that, so
Jessica (45:47):
Yeah.
Lucia (45:48):
on that.
Jessica (45:49):
Oh my gosh, I love it.
I never saw it that way.
And it's just basically beingyour authentic self.
And I think that that will, likeyour kids will see that and
already know that, and I loveit.
So thank you so much for sharingthat.
Yes.
Well, Lucia, where can peopleconnect with you?
Where can people follow you andalso support your business?
Lucia (46:13):
Uh, we are at Play Patto on Instagram.
Uh, we are at play patto pattocom online.
Right now.
We are having people sign up,uh, to get a discount on the
toys when they come out.
We will announce it to our, youknow, through our newsletter and
obviously also on our, on ourInstagram.
So come out there.
We have a broadcast channelwhere we're talking about these
(46:35):
topics all the time, and kind ofsupporting parents one-on-one
and sharing resources, you know,because that's what parents, I
feel like, to get the mostresources on how to keep this
going, and eventually our toys.
So
Jessica (46:48):
Yes.
Well, Lucia, thank you so muchfor being on the show.
I really appreciate it.
It's very empowering, uh, to bewith other maas who are doing
the work.
And again, the essence of havingcommunity, I.
Not just with any mamas, becauseI know that it's important to
have a variety, but also beingintentional of who you talk to,
(47:08):
you know, and that way you don'tfeel isolated in this journey
and raising, bilingual kids.
And so thank you so much for forbeing here and for sharing your
wisdom./
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