OPOL is a tool, not a rule book
Recently, a parent told me they were advised to follow OPOL strictly – no flexibility, no exceptions.
No talk about context.
No acknowledgment of or space for the child’s or family’s changing environment.
I almost never jump in blindly when another professional has already given advice, especially when I don’t know the detailed circumstances of the family. But this time I had to offer one gentle caution:
“You might not be able to stick to OPOL forever. And you shouldn’t have to. It might not be sustainable. Just give it a think.”
Because children grow.
Their worlds expand.
Their language environments shift in ways we simply cannot control.
Outside the home, children are surrounded by the school language: teachers, friends, hang‑outs, after‑school activities, screens. Over time, the outside world usually has a stronger pull on a child’s language development than anything we do at home. I tell parents that, so they can prepare - mentally, at least.
As peers become more and more central in children’s lives, their language choices, jokes, games, and group norms start shaping which language feels “normal”, “easy” or “cool”. At that point, an inflexible OPOL rule at home can feel more like friction than support.
This is exactly why I tell families:
OPOL will only get you so far.
Consistency is essential, but only when paired with flexibility does it help sustain your home languages over time.
Any strategy that ignores context will collapse the moment life gets (more) complex.
The mother I spoke to didn’t love hearing that. She got defensive, but not because she didn’t care, but because my words disrupted a perceived sense of control she believed she had over her child’s language journey. When you’ve poured time and energy into “doing it right,” it’s painful to hear that the rulebook might not protect you.
And that’s okay. I wasn’t trying to win an argument or prove another professional wrong. What I wanted was to protect her from the heartbreak of watching a home language fade while clinging to a system that no longer fits their real life. A language plan that can’t bend will eventually break and too often, it’s the minority language that snaps first.
If you’re raising multilingual children - or supporting families who do - it’s worth asking:
Where do we need more structure?
And where do we need more softness?
OPOL can be a fantastic starting point, but it should never be the whole story. The real work is adapting as your child’s world widens, so your home languages have room to grow with them.
And this article by Prof. Elizabeth Peña is a must read. It shows how children’s language environments shift as they grow and why adaptable language planning (and attitudes) isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s essential.
How Bilingual Kids’ Language Environments Change as They Grow
Photo by Ryno Marais on Unsplash
