Taking a different perspective to traditional case studies on one bilingual child, this book discusses the whole family and the realities of life with two or more children and languages. This book explores language patterns and preferences as well as the effect of birth order and family size on language use.

Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert independently researches bilingual families and their language patterns. She is the author of Language Strategies for Bilingual Families: the one-parent-one-language approach (2004, Multilingual Matters). Suzanne is British, married to a Frenchman, and lives in France with their three bilingual children aged 13, 11 and 7. Suzanne advises families through Bilingual Support Groups in France and writes on education and bringing up children with two languages.