Bilingual

I just finished 6 nights in a row as the pediatric ED doc in Daytona Beach Florida. I love this job! 75% primary care and 25% scary.
Thank God my experienced and amazing staff makes the scary intensive and critical care experiences successful.
I had no idea how many people came to the ED that didn't speak English. Now I know.
I go into the room and listen....then I start to ask questions. If the language is Spanish..then I start asking questions in Spanglish. I employ my best Spanish accent. I ask " Does your child have a FEVERVA? . ..Is he VOMITINGO...Any RASHEESIA??
Then I start to speak louder and employ my own sign language. I grab my head and bang it against the wall and scream "ANY HEAD PAIN?""...
After some time...the nurse reminds me that we have an online interpreter that could make everything better.
I eagerly and humbly agree.

Said interpreter makes all things more clear and I can do my job without further making an ass out of myself.

Which brings me to my point. All kids that can be bilingual should be bilingual. My dad came from India and didn't teach my brother and I any of his 4-5 languages. It was a time to hide one's ethnicity and blend in to the status quo...American...small town culture.

RJ..speaks fluent Spanish and didn't teach the girls a word of it. He wasn't around much when they were little though.

Now when I see patients of other cultures....I BEG them to only speak their native language around their children in their home. They will get English from TV, daycare and school. Children have an amazing capacity to learn and process language from birth forward. They will NOT be delayed by being bilingual or trilingual.

Studies have shown that even children with developmental delay have the ability to process more than one language!

So...now...when I see a family that speaks another language...I no longer try to shout out my questions in the appropriate accent....but immediately ask for the interpreter and make SURE they know that I want them to speak their native language in the home so that their child has the benefit of knowing MANY different ways to communicate.

I am trying ..at 47 years of age to learn Spanish. I mostly suck at this. My brain just won't do it.

My advice...teach kids from birth to be bilingual or trilingual.

I had a patient that was so sick a few nights ago. He was almost 3 years old and spoke only Spanish. His mom had some English. I was trying to bond with him but I could only remember two Spanish words.... Blue (Azul) and cat (Gato)...So I said in my fun pediatric voice..." I'm an AZUL GATO..I'm an AZUL GATO...I'm an AZUL GATO.."..

Apparently, for a febrile and sick Spanish child this was scary. He screamed in terror and his mom looked at me like I had lost my mind.

All the more reason for me to learn Spanish.