The battle of the languages in raising bilingual children

There is a recurring demand in our home. "Carl, vuga ikirundi!" I call it a demand because we leave no other option. We never even questioned whether our children would speak Kirundi. It was always going to be the case, no matter where they grew up. Carl is our firstborn. He spoke nothing but Kirundi until he was two. He could count and make his little toddler requests only in our first language. He did not start using English sentences until he was three. English is to be spoken only at school, but this rule has become harder to reinforce since he became fluent. 

In just two years, we have gone from having a child who called a diaper "ikibindo" to one who sometimes cannot seem to finish a sentence without using an English word. The struggle is real. As the oldest child, he naturally sets the tone for the rest of our children. When he remembers, you can often hear him correcting his cousins when they speak English. "Reka kuvuga icongereza muhira," he tells them. He has set the tone so well that our two year old barely knows any English. 

Even so, he still says things like "Pasta isa na brown sometimes!" I then have to ask him to repeat his sentence only in Kirundi, which means I have to tell him what the Kirundi words for "brown" and "sometimes" are. I don't mind the conversation detours we have to take to reinforce our language rules. I know firsthand that it pays off to be fluent in more than one or two languages.

I see his little brain working hard to maintain a balance. He is getting older and starting to realize that English has the home court advantage. Just yesterday, he told me that he wants to start a Kids Learning Tube channel in Kirundi. He noticed that they have videos in Spanish and other languages but not in Kirundi. When I asked what the purpose of his channel would be, he explained that he wants children in the US to learn his language. "The channel wouldn't be for Burundian kids, Mama. Abana bo mu Burundi baravuga Ikirundi." (children in Burundi already speak Kirundi). 

So, the battle continues. The seed has been planted. He is aware that he will not be able to communicate with some of his relatives if he forget his language. He knows that we are here to help him translate the new English words he learns at school into Kirundi. Will English win him over completely at some point? I have no idea. All I know is that we will always remind him our first language. He will learn more languages as he gets older, but his verbal roots will always be in Kirundi.