About Michelle

My story

Hi! I am Michelle, a polyglot mom raising her multilingual son Leo. I speak 5 languages fluently: Portuguese, Mandarin, English, Spanish, and German. Growing up trilingual, I experienced first hand the benefits and the difficulties of speaking multiple languages and navigating different cultures.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was determined to find all the necessary information to raise my child multilingual. But soon I realized that finding good information about bilingualism was not easy. Most resources I found were examples of native English speakers teaching their children Spanish. I wanted to see more diversity in the languages covered as well as the cultural aspect of what is like to speak languages that are very different from one another.

Michelle & Leo reading

I started Mybabelbee to help busy parents find reliable information about raising bilingual children. My wish is to empower parents to make informed decisions about their bilingual journey and support them along the way. I want you to feel confident about your choices and have the right tools to overcome your challenges. Raising a bilingual child requires planning and determination. But it is also extremely rewarding and fun!

Michelle & Leo closeup
Family

About my family

We are a lovely family based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mommy is Brazilian of Taiwanese decent and Daddy is South African of Tswana origin. Leo is mainly learning English, Chinese Mandarin and Portuguese.

In our free time, we love to spend time outdoors. We also love finding local cafés that serve the best brunches. During the Covid-19 lockdown, we enjoy spending quality time together staying at home.