Whether you’re the parent to a newborn or your child is about to start high school, care for your child’s intellectual development is a normal part of any parental experience. Cognition for language, in particular, is closely monitored by physicians and families alike from a child’s birth to preschool years. But once a primary language is learned, many families, especially those native to the United States, assume their child’s language learning days are largely behind them. Schools that lack a language requirement cement this single language understanding.

But this doesn’t have to the be the case. In fact, many countries mandate the introduction of foreign language in schools by age eight, while students in the U.S. are often not exposed to a foreign language curriculum until junior or senior year in high school. This leaves American students at a cognitive and practical disadvantage, providing them with only four years of study versus ten or 12. Similarly, the Summer Institute of Linguistics reported that more than two-thirds of children globally are bilingual, while only 17% of the entire U.S. population can speak another language besides English.

Spanish, the second most spoken language in the United States, is a fantastic foreign language for children to begin learning regardless of age. But if Spanish isn’t offered in school, choosing a Spanish curriculum for children can be difficult for parents, let alone deciding on a homeschool Spanish curriculum. Here are three things to remember when contemplating beginning a homeschool Spanish curriculum for your children:

1. They’re Primed to Absorb Language

Statistics strongly support the teaching of a foreign language in a format like a Spanish homeschool curriculum to young children. In fact, science shows that the earlier you introduce a foreign language to your child the better. Beginning before the age of ten is most ideal with sooner than 5 being most effective. This time in early development is when acquiring language skills is easiest for children. Children’s ability to reproduce foreign sounds and understand new grammar rules is very much enhanced prior to age six. Your child loses this ability between the ages of eight and 12, making foreign language acquisition more difficult, though not impossible. Best of all, it’s been found that children who speak a second language can learn a third markedly faster.

2. It’ll Prepare Them for the Future

Even if your child is only in preschool, deciding to engage them in a program like a homeschool Spanish curriculum can give them a true step above the rest. Bilingual employees have been found to earn, on average, 20% more per hour than those who speak only one language. Homeschool spanish lessons could prove to be invaluable for your child once he/she enters the adult world

3. Teaches Them to Embrace Our Culture

More than anything, teaching a homeschool Spanish curriculum for children introduces them to a language that is ubiquitous both domestically and on the global scale. The official language in 21 countries worldwide, the Spanish language dominates some of the globe’s most visited destinations. According to a census report, Spanish is the second most-spoken language in the world, boasting 387 million native speakers, more than that of even English.

Introducing your child to a foreign language, such as Spanish, at any age can prove invaluable for their development on many levels. The opportunities for multilingual individuals, no matter the language, are endless.