Should I stop speaking English to my child because of my accent?

A parent asked me this yesterday. She's Russian, living in Amsterdam, worried her accented English will "confuse" or "limit" her daughter.

This isn't a parenting question. It's a linguistics question. And the research is unambiguous.

What the data shows:

Children exposed to multiple accents develop superior phonological processing compared to children who hear only one accent. They're not confused, they're building cognitive flexibility.

A 2019 study in Developmental Science found that infants raised in multilingual, multi-accent environments showed enhanced ability to distinguish phonetic contrasts by 12 months.

The mistake parents make:

They think accent = language deficiency.

The reality:

Accent = linguistic diversity. And children's brains are wired to process diversity as data, not noise.

Here's what actually matters for language development:

✓ Consistency - Speak your language regularly, not randomly

✓ Emotional connection - Your native language carries more authentic emotion

✓ Cultural transmission - Only you can teach your language's cultural context

✓ Confidence modeling - Children internalize your attitude toward your accent

What will actually limit your child's language development:

✗ Switching to a language you're less fluent in

✗ Speaking with anxiety or shame

✗ Reducing input in your heritage language

✗ Apologizing for how you sound

The framework I give parents:

1.Native language parent = Heritage language at home (always)

2.Majority language = They'll get 10,000+ hours at school

3.Your accent = Proof that language belongs to everyone

Your child will learn "standard" pronunciation from school, media, peers.

They'll only learn your language from you.

Speak your language. With your accent. With pride.

The research says your accent isn't the problem. Your hesitation is.

Parents raising multilingual children: What's the biggest pressure you face around "perfect" pronunciation?