Lately, I haven’t written a lot about my struggle to teach the kids Vietnamese. The reason is because I feel like a total slacker. I haven’t been speaking a bunch of Vietnamese to them. Nor have I stuck to any sort of regimen about exposing them to more Vietnamese. I’m probably being too hard on myself.
Earlier this week, Amber at A Backwards Life shared some the same frustrations. I’m not alone. I know some of you feel the same way. However, Amber is much cooler than me. She’s not Vietnamese nor does she speak it. Her husband is the one that speaks Vietnamese. I applaud her for working so hard to make sure her children learn an important part of their heritage.
Instead of beating myself up, I dug around the internet for some Vietnamese language resources for young kids. Like Amber, I’m searching for a Vietnamese children’s show, like Dora teaching Spanish or Kai-Lan teaching Mandarin. There’s isn’t any that I know of. (If you know of one, please let me know!)
Luckily, I found some videos and websites that I think my kids would like. They aren’t officially kid approved yet since my kids are at Camp Grandparent, my budget friendly Vietnamese language immersion camp.
This one is a Vietnamese kids show called Chúc Bé Ngủ Ngon (Sleep Well Little One), akin to Barney or the Wiggles. It’s a bit vapid for me, an adult, to watch but the kids will probably like it. They talk about learning to ride a bike takes time. I actually found the commercials at the beginning of the video fascinating. What do you think?
I made a Vietnamese Videos for Kids playlist on youtube, so check out the rest of them. As I find more, I’ll add to the list.
Hi Thien-Kim.
Thank you for this list. have you seen Vietnamese Fun with Chi Kayla.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EasLRA5xRHw
She only has 3 kids songs, but my kids love them.
I’ve been struggling to teach my kids Vietnamese as well since I’m married to a Thai guy and English is the language we speak with the kids. Also, i don’t speak Vietnamese so well, but since becoming a mom, I’m striving to teach myself and the kids Vietnamese.
I’m so glad i found your website. I’ve been meaning to start a blog about motherhood, crafts, recipes, and raising kids as well. I really enjoy reading your posts.
My-Ngoc
Try Pops Kids and Boomerang Vietnam on YouTube. They have tv shows for kids in Vietnamese.
Thank you, Hoang. I will definitely check them out.