Wresting control from my bilingual meter-high master

Bringing up a child in a foreign land has many advantages. To me, the major one is that he or she will grow up learning another language without trying to.

My child was born here, and at nearly 4 years old, speaks Chinese and English equally well. His Chinese is of course far better than mine, his tones are spot on and he has no trace of a foreign accent. Feeling slightly envious of this, and while I still have the chance to stamp my authority on him, I find myself constantly reminding him that my English is still better than his.

At the moment, my Chinese is up to understanding more or less everything he says, even the swear words he is already coming back from kindergarten shouting out to startled, kindly neighbors as we walk down the street.