Language at home? Which one?

[cassecouilles 3]

This really IS an interesting topic, and one that I have been agonizing on for a long time. Ten months to be exact, when I had our little boy. My future hubby is Mexican but has lived his whole life in the US. His parents always spoke Spanish to him and his siblings but he was never interested in learning. Result: he speaks English without an accent and really bad "Spanglish". I however, have a Spanish mother and a Belgian (Flemish) father. When I was little, we lived in Spain. They used to communicate together in French and when I was 4 we moved back to Belgium where I went to a Flemish school. Result: At age 5 I spoke Dutch, French and Spanish like a native. Books and TV took care of English by the time I was 11. German came later on in high school. Languages have always been a huge part of my life, a major help when looking for a job and I absolutely want my son to have that same advantage in the future. When you're able, teaching your children different languages is a huge gift you're giving them.

Right now my fiance is still abroad serving in the military and I am still working here in Belgium while Ian goes to daycare in Dutch. I speak Dutch and French to Ian, figuring he'll learn English soon enough when he gets to the US in May. But even once we get there, I'll never stop speaking French and Dutch to him because I don't want either of us to forget. I'll also encourage my fiance's parents to speak Spanish to him. I do hope I am not overwhelming him and realize it might cause him slight problems in the beginning (my brother had trouble keeping all languages apart) but still believe that in the long run,it'd be for the best. That being said, if when he gets older he's truly not interested, I wouldn't force him. Gah, so complicated!