submitted on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 22:42 in Bilingual kids English/Italian Group by Serginho 
Children can be expected to go through some periods of mixing the two languages and borrowing vocabulary to express ideas, sometimes within the same sentence. This occurs because vocabulary may exist in one language but not in the other. Or words from one language may convey a message that is not easily translated into the other language.
A separation of the two languages will occur gradually. Children may also experiment with the two languages to create special effects or to express themselves in specific settings. For example, one language may be identified as less formal and used for information about events related to home and family. The other language may be identified as more formal and used for activities outside the home. There may also be periods when one language is used more than the other. The opposite occurs with a change in the environment.
Children may not be equally skilled in both languages. It is common for there to be greater understanding than actual use of one language. Less confusion will occur if children learn to associate the two languages differently, for example if one language is used while speaking to the mother and the other while speaking to the father.
Some children struggle to make themself understood, find it difficult to mix with children if they do not master the main language well enough, get reprimanded if they speak the wrong language, use funny words, can’t make themselves understood. Parents are not spared: they struggle to find ways to entice their children to practice their minority language, often double up as teachers, confuse their children
