It's Never Just About the Language: Raising Multilingual Kids with Maria "Mimi" Potvin | Ep 96

We're taught that children are sponges, that if you move abroad, they'll simply absorb the new language and everything will be fine. Maria "Mimi" Potvin, linguist and founder of Growing Up Multilingual, is here with a fuller, more honest story. Mimi joins Mickelle to talk about the part of multilingual life no one prepares you for: not how children gain a language, but what happens when a home language quietly begins to slip away  and what that costs a family over time. Drawing on her research and her own life across Bulgaria, Germany, and the Netherlands, she reframes language as identity, belonging, and emotional connection rather than vocabulary. It's a tender, clear-eyed conversation about raising confident multilingual children without turning your home into a classroom and about coming home to the languages inside yourself. In this episode: The number one myth parents believe about raising multilingual kids Why "translation is not transmission," and how language is emotion Communicative vs. academic language, and the two "backpacks" a child carries How a home language becomes a child's one constant through every move Why Mimi says, quietly, "I survived because of language" Heritage language as a homecoming, for the child and the parent Find Mimi at growingupmultilingual.com, on Instagram @growingup_multilingual, and on Substack at Multilingual-ish. For more about this episode, visit https://www.houseofperegrine.com/podcast/ep-096 House of Peregrine is the network for International life, made by and for people living abroad.   Get started with a FREE account today to unlock exclusive content, connections, and opportunities: houseofperegrine.com/auth/signup Join a global circle of thinkers, creators, and doers. We host events, build products, publish guides, run a podcast, offer rewards and curated products — all within a vibrant ecosystem of experts and businesses to support your life abroad. Subscribe: houseofperegrine.com/subscribe Join our WhatsApp Group: HOP Community Explore Memberships: houseofperegrine.com/memberships Install the App: houseofperegrine.com/install Follow us for daily inspiration and updates: Instagram: @houseofperegrinepodcast YouTube: @HouseofPeregrineofficial LinkedIn:@company/house-of-peregrine TikTok: @houseofperegrinepodcast