158. How to Raise a Bilingual Child Without Losing Yourself

In this VLM Spotlight episode, I sit down with Cynthia Contreras, a wife, Latina mom, and bilingual reading specialist. What started as a chat about raising Spanish-dominant kids turned into a beautiful exploration of identity, healing generational trauma, and what it really means to show up for our children while still showing up for ourselves.

Cynthia shares her journey from being the only Latina in her Wisconsin classroom, to becoming a first-gen college graduate, to intentionally building a bilingual home for her 5-year-old son. If you've ever felt the pressure of raising kids between two cultures - this episode is for you, mama.

For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode158

What You'll Hear in This Episode

• How Cynthia went from feeling ashamed of her Spanish to majoring in it in college, and what that identity shift taught her about the power of owning your roots
• Why raising a Spanish-dominant child takes inner work first
• What parents often misunderstand about how children learn to read in two languages, and simple things you can do at home
• The role of travel, cultural immersion, and daily habits in keeping heritage alive
• Navigating the "millennial sandwich": healing generational trauma, raising bilingual kids, growing professionally, and still keeping your marriage and identity intact

Follow Cynthia on Instagram: @cynthia.ccontreras

Transcript

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 0:00

if you really want to provide that value and that skill to your children, you have, it's. Has to start with you and realizing if I want my child to have this extra skill and all the benefits that come with, um, being bilingual, you have to have the willingness to improve in your Spanish by reading, um, by possibly taking some, um, Spanish courses, kind of like flipping the coin here, kind of like what we do with English, but now with Spanish, so that way you can feel a bit more confident as a parent that, okay, I'm getting better in my Spanish, but if I'm not really reading it and practicing it, kind of like what happens with English, then you're not going to feel more confident in that language and you're going to feel embarrassed or you're not really going to understand the value because of maybe that trauma or ex bad experience that you kind of had as a child. So it's just starting with you as a parent, like. What about Spanish makes me feel embarrassed?

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 2:05

Ola. Welcome to the Viva La Mommy Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Cuevas. And on today's episode we have Cynthia Contreras, and I'm very excited to have her here just because we connected through this connection call about the possibility of her moving to Mexico. But through our conversation, I got to know more about her and kind of like her goals and aspirations and kind of her motherhood journey. And so I just feel compelled, uh, to have Cynthia here, for her to share her story. through Viva La Mommy's podcast, I have, uh, several type of series type episodes where I not only interview expert guests on the show, but also, the purpose of this podcast is to interview. Regular moms, right? Any day type regular moms, especially through the Latina perspective. And I think by having Cynthia here, be an amazing opportunity to kind of get to know her and that way whoever's listening or watching can relate to her experience. Uh, because I don't think that motherhood should be an isolated journey. I think all of us should kind of be in this together and understand from our point of views and our stories, and I think that this is an opportunity for us to share as much as we can. So Cynthia RAs is a wife, Latina mom, an educator who is a first generation Mexican American. Her own childhood experiences growing up between languages deeply influenced her decision to raise her child bilingual and prioritized Spanish at home, which I love drawing from both her lived experiences and her work in education as a former teacher. Now reading specialist, Cynthia advocates for Spanish dominant homes and helps families see bilingualism as a meaningful gift rooted in culture, identity, and connection. I love this bio of you, Cynthia, just because I feel like I can definitely relate and I'm very, um, excited for you to be here and to share more about your expertise, but also about your journey. So welcome to the show.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 4:09

Yeah. Welcome. I'm so happy and I feel so honored to be here and I can't wait to have this amazing conversation and hopefully a lot of the Latina moms out there can relate.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 4:21

Yes, absolutely. Well, Cynthia, before we get into the nitty gritty of things, can you introduce yourself? I know I kind of gave a pretty brief bio, but tell us a little bit more about who you are, what you do, your upbringing and your family.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 4:37

Yeah, so I am, um, Mexican American. I. Am an educator. I have been a educator for the past. This will be my ninth year. Um, so I went into education because I have a passion for learning and for myself too. Like I was always like that student, a plus student all the time. So I was like, okay, I have to, I would always play, um, pretending to be a teacher, and I would make my sister and my, um, primas become the students. So I'm like, okay. Like I felt like I needed to be, you know, I had this teacher in me since I was a little girl. Um, but I was the first one in my family to ever go to college, the first one of everything really. Um, and I currently have a 5-year-old, he's turning six very soon in the summer. I have, um, I'm married. I have been married for seven years. Um, and my upbringing in the United States has been, I feel like it has changed a lot. Maybe now that I have a son, obviously things are not the same. But I was born in the state of Washington, but then my parents came to the state of Wisconsin for work purposes. So I was pretty much raised in, in Wisconsin. Um, and I was the only Latina in the classroom back then. Um, and most of the time I felt left out. I was one of those students where I didn't have much friends. I was just like focused on my studies, um, and I just wanted to fit in. I completely ignored my Latina side and I just wanted to. Fit into the American culture. So I decided to focus just on like, getting good at English and ignoring everything else. Um, in my home, we only spoke Spanish because my parents never learned English, so I obviously kept that language alive because of that. And I had to do a lot of the translating, probably like many of you. Um, it was like nonstop translating and at a young age, so I had to kinda like take that role on very early. And when I got to college, I decided to major in Spanish because I felt my Spanish was like a novo.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 6:57

Hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 6:58

and I just didn't know, like at that point in college I felt like I was exploring a little bit more of like who I am and my identity and my roots. So then I decided to major in, in Spanish and I had, most of my professors were from Spain or from, uh, Latin America. Um, we had like professors invited from like Chile, Argentina, so I got to experience more of that side of, you know, our Latino culture. But I never had any professors like from Mexico. So a lot of the Spanish that I learned comes more from like, you know, the Spain type of Spanish. And I was like, okay, I want to get better in Spanish. I want to, the first time I wrote a essay was in college. The first time I read books in Spanish was in college. Um, my whole childhood, I never really, my parents didn't read me in Spanish. Um, so literacy wasn't really that important. Like school was important for my parents and I was like so focused on education. But besides that. My parents were like, okay, the school will kind of take care of it. So they kind of trusted the school system for that. Um, but when I was in college, I'm like, no, I want to get better at Spanish. I want to do it for myself. If I'm going to be a bilingual teacher, I need to know how to read. So I felt like I was a bilingual teacher in elementary and I was like reading at a very elementary level. So I was even struggling, um, how to read in Spanish, like children's books because, uh, my Spanish reading skills were really low. So, but over time they got better and I kept putting in the work, um, to really fermenting my identity and feeling more impassion, just feeling more passionate about where I come from.'cause for my childhood to my teen years up to high school, I really just wanted to forget about my Latina roots. And I just wanted to focus on the American culture. But it wasn't until college that I realized, okay, what am I doing? Um, so now throughout this whole couple years since college until I got married, and then I, once I had my son, my husband and I, we were like, no, Spanish has to be the first language that we really, um, stick at home because now it's even harder because we are both professionals. We both have an education, we both know English, so it takes a lot of effort to really just stick to Spanish. But we have been able to do it. And our son is really fluent in Spanish. Um, he knows how to read and he's in kinder right now, so he's learning how to read in Spanish. Um, but even in English, he's learning English really fast. And his English is very fluent as well, even though Spanish was the only language that we stick to up to this point at home. Um, and I have seen the benefits of that. If, if you really stick to one language and you really just like help your children see the beauty of like our, in my case, my Mexican roots, it's like, okay, I really want you to understand how important your identity is, but also the language and also being able to be like a true bilingual student. And I really wanted him to, you know, become, bi literate. Meaning I really wanted him to read and to write in Spanish really well, because the English, he's in kindergarten and he's already reading, you know, short sentences, beginner level English books. So it's like now I'm starting to see the benefits of like, okay. We have to keep this going even throughout high school because they will lose it very soon. But we are trying our best to keep it alive, to keep the language alive and the culture. And that's why we do a lot of like traveling to Mexico all the time. And my son is so proud of, and he says he's Mexican, but I have been telling him, you're Mexican American.'cause I also want him to know that he has these two, you know, cultures, but he's so proud of like, he's like, yeah, I'm Mexican. I'm, I'm so proud of being from Mexico and he's so much into football. And a lot of like those culture aspects that Alito, he has been kind of like exploring without us kind of putting a pressure or like demanding him to like, no, you need to know this. So I feel like we're trying to lead more by example and being a role model for him than kind of like putting a pressure into like, no, you have to do this. Um, because we don't want you to lose a Spanish, so we're really trying to add value into, into like the why behind it.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 11:54

you're being intentional in raising a, you know, a Spanish dominant child,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 11:59

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 12:00

like normalizing that he is also developing as a bilingual child. Right. And, and that's something that a lot of times in our community, and I don't know, like I grew up in the nineties, right? My, I also grew up like, you just like Spanish, speaking Spanish at home, like exclusively. And then once we got out the door, we had to like shift it. It's almost like that code switching we had to like know where. Our environment was, and then figure out whether, if it's a safe space to speak either Spanish or English. And, and that is very difficult, I would say, especially when you're a child. You know, you already have this sort of skillset that a lot of monolingual kids

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 12:46

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 12:48

And the fact that you are kind of doing this in an like a genuine, authentic way like that is extremely helpful. You know, especially for a child who lives in the United States and is proud of his cultural roots and, and I think. I think through your past experience, especially when you had to assimilate and you know, leave part of your language behind just to like survive. I think the skills right now that kids are having, it's not like a survival mechanism, it's more like an integration between two cultures and, languages and I love that. And so how has it really shaped you now as a mom and raising a kid who was proud of his identity? Like how has it shaped you, um, to the person that you have become?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 13:40

Yeah, I feel like my son came to really transforming in so many ways. I feel that's part of motherhood, right? When we become moms, it transforms us a lot. And the big part of me that really changed was like my mental health and the mentality. I had to heal a lot of traumas that I had carried from childhood to early teen years, even into college. I just had a lot of family situations happen and I had to heal a lot of that. And as I was healing that I was like starting to see um, like just the benefits of like, okay, I have to feel proud of where I come from. And, um, my son has taught me that I feel that he even inspired me. Well it was actually through my son that. I was like, okay, I can become a dual citizen. So I have been so passionate about, um, just getting so good in like the way I communicate in Spanish, just perfecting those skills. Um, and I decided to become a dual citizen, um, that I'm still in the process'cause probably a lot of you can relate. Um, a lot of birth certificate mistakes

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 15:01

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 15:01

on my birth certificate. So I have to do a lot of that stuff before I can become a citizen. Um, so I, we went todo the Mexico here in the United States and we found out that my birth certificate was wrong because we wanted my son to have his birth certificate from Mexico. Um,'cause we were trying to do it through my husband, uh, for my son. But then we found out that there was a couple mistakes. So then I started the process, um, and I'm just. Kind of waiting on a couple things. Um, but it inspired me to not only become a Mexican citizen, but really trying to perfect those skills. Really trying to not pretend to like forget about my culture or be embarrassed because growing up I was really embarrassed to speak in Spanish to my mom or to my dad when we were out at the stores. And I just felt like I needed to hide my language growing up versus now I don't care. Like I speak to my son in Spanish. It doesn't matter if I have like blank stares of like, oh, what are you talking about? Um, because sometimes I'm at the store and people that are not Spanish speakers, they just look at me like, what are you saying? Or sometimes they even ask me, oh, does your son like understand English? Um. Or sometimes I even tell them, I'm like, no. Right now, he only understands mostly Spanish. But since he is grasping to English quite a bit, he's getting there, he's understanding a couple things. Um, but it's amazing how even my son kind of like, he, he's not embarrassed to, to just like try or he's not embarrassed to speaking. Like he, he's just not aware of like being embarrassed to speak Spanish in public. Um, there's a funny story that I always remember with my son. There was this time where this person came up to us and she was just asking him a question at the grocery store. I think we were shopping for groceries. And then she asked him, oh, you're helping your mom with groceries? Something like that. Like

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 17:12

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 17:12

she was just talking to him. And then my son was like, I think he was like four around this time. Um, and he was just like, yeah, like shake, get his head. So he was just pretending that he was understanding the language.'cause at that point he didn't know. Um, much English, and then I asked, um, my son, I was like, did you understand what the lady was asking or telling you? And he's like, no, mom. But I was just pretending to, to understand like I was just faking it. So it's just crazy how like he naturally kind of just kind of faked it a little bit, but he would say, sure. Like he's just like not aware of that. So I love that innocence of him. So I'm really, my husband and I were really trying to have him feel so proud of the language and where he comes from and the roots and the identity piece for when a situation happens that a person might, you know, say something that might make him feel, you know, just bad about being Latino or those comments that sometimes you can get. He will feel like strong enough, you know, and he will not feel embarrassed about like, no, this is who I am.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 18:26

Right?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 18:26

It doesn't matter where I am, I can speak the language I want, Spanish or English. Um, and I feel like that's our biggest motivator, like to really help him. And I feel something that really helped us.'cause we have the privilege of being bilingual and we have the privilege of teaching the language to them. And I'm like, why would I not do that? Why would I not want my son to have that? Um, so we have also been really privileged to, even though we got in a lot of debt, but we came outta it. Um, but we did a lot of trips ever since he was born up to now, um, to go to Mexico every single year. And it was really interesting because each time we took him year after year, even though he doesn't have any memory of the trips, we kept seeing like a big growth in him and. And just like having a lot of like this background knowledge and having him experience like different languages and like different cities and everything. It has really built his background knowledge a lot. And then when it comes to like bilingual education and literacy, a lot of our students don't have that. They just don't have that, those opportunities and the privilege.'cause I didn't have that privilege of traveling with my parents. Um, the first trip we did as a family was when I got married. Um, and we went on a trip to San Miguel with my parents. Like, that was like in my early, I think it was like early,'cause I'm, right now I'm 34, so I think I was 30 when we went. But growing up we never went anywhere. Not even Wisconsin is really close to Illinois. We didn't even go to Chicago, like to a big city.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 20:18

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 20:19

We would only go to Chicago for the airport. That's it. So.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 20:23

Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 20:23

Yeah. So I was like, my parents just couldn't provide that. They were more in a survival mode. We couldn't afford stuff like that. So now that my husband and I, we have been able to provide that, we're like, okay, it's worth the debt. I'm not saying get in debt, um, but if you can afford it and save up for it,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 20:45

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 20:46

can provide a lot of just experiences to your children, um, that we just didn't have that opportunity growing up.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 20:54

yeah. It can be as simple as going to your family's

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 20:59

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 20:59

if you still have family in Mexico, you don't

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 21:01

Yep.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 21:03

you know, at a

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 21:05

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 21:05

or whatever. Like you already have family, and I, and I always, I'm with you. Like, I think that we have that benefit, that sort of privilege, that leverage of being a part of. Two unique cultures being a part of two countries and utilize like the motherland where our family came from as a benefit, as as a big positive, especially when it comes to raising our children. I know that for us who are first, second gen, you know, who are the

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 21:39

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 21:39

in raising bilingual children, it is a lot of work. Like it is heavy and causes like, you know, I think just like a lot of mental overload. And I think it's because of the intentions of raising, uh, Spanish first, you know, or bilingual child.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 21:57

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 21:58

But I feel like the sense of responsibility, and I don't know if this is something that you also believe pretty much everyone, you know, who listens. Like, I feel like there is a sense of responsibility though, that in order for our children to be proud of who they are, we have to do the work. It's not just like miraculously give

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 22:16

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 22:17

they're gonna, you know, be integrated in the culture. Like, no, we have to be the role model, like you mentioned, and actually do the work. And what's funny is that there's, um, a lot of family members, you know, where I have like little cousins, like I'm the oldest on my mom's side of the family, like I'm the

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 22:33

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 22:35

Yeah. Being the oldest has a lot of challenges.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 22:37

Oh, yeah, it does.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 22:38

but yes. But my little cousins, even though we're technically in the same generation, like they don't speak a lick of Spanish,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 22:48

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 22:49

are like,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 22:52

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 22:52

and it's like, It's not about. Them just speaking, it's us doing the work. You know, it's us like having the visuals, right? The library, like if we're able to afford books, like

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 23:04

Hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 23:05

have a collection of books,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 23:09

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 23:09

least bilingual, even though some of the translations are

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 23:12

Yeah. There.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 23:13

still, yeah. Yeah. They're pretty bad,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 23:15

Yeah. And what, right now that you're getting into like, the books, it's like, I mean, when I recently, when we had our son, like since we were, you know, we just bought a house in that point and we were in debt and all this, like, I couldn't afford, you know, buying books. So we would go to the library and I would try to find the Spanish books, but a lot of the books in my local library, um, there's not a good variety of Spanish books. And I really struggled to find the good books, but I'm like, okay, it doesn't matter even if I have to use,'cause on your phone you can use Google Translate to translate books even though they're really bad. But I was just really trying to even get the English books and translate them or make up a story to kind of go along with it. Um, I, I even did that like, because I was just really desperate to. Read to um, my son in Spanish and just Spanish, even like the TV shows that he would watch even up to this day, even though he's five and a half, like it's still Spanish, like he's going to get even more English. I mean, he's getting English in school, he's talking English with his friends or or other people he sees in public. But it's just like we are really keeping it to just Spanish and,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 24:38

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 24:39

cause it's going to get harder as he grows. But our hope is like, hopefully by then his identity will be like, okay, like I want to keep my Spanish and it's more enriching. And you know, there's just things that in Spanish you can express yourself in a different way than in English. You just kind of have to like pick. But I feel like the book situation is not an excuse and you have to be the role model similar. Like you, I had that situation where, um, a lot of my primas, like, they just don't speak Spanish. And they were like, and they're, and then this is what surprises me when I go to my family events. They tell me, uh, they start talking to my son in English and they're like, oh yeah, I forgot that you're just speaking to your son in Spanish. So it's like if I was the, you know, going extinct in my family,'cause I'm like the last, the only one sticking to to Spanish. Um, and then they're so shocked. They're like, and I'm like. Why should this be a surprise? And my cousins were born in Mexico and, and I'm like, it's just like really interesting.'cause I have cousins that were born in Mexico, they don't even know, like they know English, but not, a couple of them don't know much. And then the children, they know really good English, but they just dunno a word of Spanish. They kind of understand it, but then it just ends there. Um, and I feel sometimes like, uh, some parents might want to blame, you know, the community, the school system or the, or just the society. But you as a parent, you have to do the work. You cannot just rely on the school districts. Like the school district should be an extension for them to obviously get more of the academics that we don't have all the knowledge to. But I feel. The language and like the values and the respect and everything should be coming from the home.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 26:54

Hmm

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 26:54

obviously we all come from different backgrounds, experiences, so we're not going to be the, but

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 27:04

Hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 27:05

we have to like, kind of be aware of that, that it's our responsibility if we do care about passing these amazing skills of being bilingual and the benefits of them. You do have to put in the work. It's like anything else, it's like when you want to really like, you know, work out, get healthier, like you have to put in the work. The same thing happens with like you wanting to have your children, you know, become bilingual, um, in fluent in the language.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 27:37

Yeah. And yeah, and I know that there is this new wave of like, moms wanting to raise their kids,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 27:46

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 27:48

Uh, and I often see it with monolingual

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 27:51

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 27:52

Uh, at least that's what I saw in Chicago. Like, all of these, like monolingual families. Let's face it, white people, um, wanna put their kids in bilingual schooling or dual language programs. And then our community, they're very hesitant even till this day, even though like they're even know res, there's a lot of research out there. There's a lot of resources, you know, like bilingual books, artists shows, like all of, like, there's so many bilingual like things out there that, you know, whereas like with our generation growing up, like we never even

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 28:28

mm Never.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 28:31

No. And so, yeah, I just find it interesting that still there are some people within our own community that are very hesitant in raising bilingual kids. And I don't know if this is part of their traumas. I don't know if this is part of their upbringing or like misconceptions about, well, it's very difficult to be bilingual. Like I navigated this. Like, I don't wanna, I don't wanna put my kid into this kind of like, deficit. So type of advice would you wanna give a mom who, you know, is conflicted with those talks, especially from our family

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 29:07

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 29:08

and how can she feel empowered in, you know, putting their kid into a bilingual program or raising them, um, Spanish dominant? Like, what would you say?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 29:18

Yeah. I would say that to those moms that are maybe hesitant about it, I feel I see it more when it comes from. If you don't feel confident in like who you are and if you don't feel confident in like speaking Spanish.'cause I do have, I know people that in my family that they are embarrassed to speak Spanish because they might be made fun of. Um, so part of it is just feeling embarrassed, kind of like what happens with newcomers to the United States. Like they feel embarrassed to speak English because of their accent.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 29:56

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 29:57

I feel the same thing happens to Spanish. Like, um, you probably went through a situation or a trauma where you were made fun of for speaking Spanish or, um, that's why we hear that phrase the no Sabo kid because, um, those children or adults, like, they just don't feel confident in their Spanish. But if you really want to provide that value and that skill to your children, you have, it's. Has to start with you and realizing if I want my child to have this extra skill and all the benefits that come with, um, being bilingual, you have to have the willingness to improve in your Spanish by reading, um, by possibly taking some, um, Spanish courses, kind of like flipping the coin here, kind of like what we do with English, but now with Spanish, so that way you can feel a bit more confident as a parent that, okay, I'm getting better in my Spanish, but if I'm not really reading it and practicing it, kind of like what happens with English, then you're not going to feel more confident in that language and you're going to feel embarrassed or you're not really going to understand the value because of maybe that trauma or ex bad experience that you kind of had as a child. So it's just starting with you as a parent, like. What about Spanish makes me feel embarrassed? Or does it remind me back to like a bad memory I had? And maybe it's just like talking about it, realizing like, okay, finding ways like through books or through a class of how I could really improve my Spanish to help my children. Um, but I feel the parent is the one that has to kind of like, reflect back and like, what is holding me back from really,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 31:44

Hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 31:45

um, kind of like fermenting this, um, importance in the language of my children. Um, and I feel from there then you can be more open and willing to put your child in a bilingual education in a bilingual, um, system. Because sometimes I remember I had a couple parents when I was bilingual, uh, the bilingual classroom, like they would deny, even though their child qualified for bilingual services, they would deny the bilingual services.'cause they only wanted them to learn English. And I never knew the reason why, but I was assuming that possibly because they really just wanted their children not to go through a tough situation maybe, or embarrassment. Um, I, I feel like came more from that side, um, because it probably reminded the parent of like, oh, when I was growing up I struggled a lot with English, or I felt embarrassed. Um, so when there's always like hesitation in your motherhood, um, I always look back and like, what's causing that? Like finding like that root cause. And once you find it. Be willing to put in the work because sometimes even when you realize that you know the benefits and all this, you kind of feel like, okay, I'm so busy with work, I don't have the time. You know, we have this just attitude of like, I just don't want to do it. Um, is then your child is just going to then, um, stick to the English and um, then the Spanish will, you know, will eventually be lost. Because

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 33:38

Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 33:38

as the kids get older and they grow up, obviously English is the language they pick with their friends. Um, and Spanish is the only one that they talk to their parents or Los.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 33:49

Grandparents. Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 33:52

but I feel also like not letting yourself kind of get. You know, like fooled and like the politics behind it because in the United, in the United States with the situation that we're going through, that can be a big factor too. And like allowing yourself to be affected by like the politics and kind of like having that negative connotation and like, oh, I don't want to know Spanish, or I don't want to speak Spanish out

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 34:20

Mm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 34:20

public. Um, so I feel it's, it has to start with you and you have to be willing to kind of like reflect on that first.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 34:29

Yeah, I love that. I never thought

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 34:32

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 34:33

Uh, you know, that it takes a lot of that inner work first to then come out with like this, like purpose and reason why you wanna raise, um, know, Spanish speaking child. And I love that, you know, and I think that's part of that intentionality, right? Because once you come up with like, your why, right? And, you know, reflection and your reasons

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 35:01

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 35:01

wanna, uh, raise a child, um, that speaks Spanish, like, that's when you, I think, authentically do the work. You know, because you have a purpose, you have a mission. And, I love that. I think that especially for our generation, you know, we've already. Have dealt with a lot of, like, load

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 35:25

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 35:25

like being the first in everything, being responsible with translations,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 35:30

Yep.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 35:31

families. And I know that a lot of that can be triggering, um, where we don't wanna repeat this sort of cycle for

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 35:38

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 35:39

in now raising bilingual kids. I think it all falls back to that reflection piece and intentions about, okay, well, you know, there's a reason why I wanna raise a, a bilingual child. And, and I think for this like. Even if you feel like you are alone in this, like there's a whole community out there, like you and I connected with that,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:03

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 36:03

already have that, um, similar pathway of being Latina moms and raising our kids, you know, Spanish dominant. And, I love that, you know, and I think it's all about having this community because if you kind of do this on your own or you feel like you are alone in this, like, no, like

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:21

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 36:22

ass people like right now,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:23

Yeah.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 36:24

in our generation that, um, yes, they're doing the work, but at least there are resources. There's a community, there's like, um, people

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:31

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 36:31

and understand. Um, even if you feel like you're primas are not raising your kids a

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:36

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 36:38

choice. But know that, you know, you're not alone in this. Um, so yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Uh,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 36:45

Yeah. And something else I do want to kind of add on, it's, it all comes to like your mindset because when I was going through this, you know, get better in a language, like you could even, you know, if you want to get better in English or if you want to get better in Spanish, um, it's never late. Like, like I said, like I didn't realize I really wanted to get better in Spanish until college. Like I was like 22, 23 by the time I realized that. So it doesn't matter if you're like in your thirties, forties, or older, like you can improve your Spanish. Um, and it, you just have to have that willingness and the why behind it. Um, like I shared before, like my why was like. Growing up I just felt like so lonely and I just felt I never belonged. And that's part of being Mexican American. Like you feel like you don't belong,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 37:43

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 37:44

um, you just struggle with that. And I struggled a lot with like that identity piece of like, who am I? And now that I'm like 34, I'm like, more than ever I'm like, no, I'm Mexican.'cause sometimes like my students will ask me, where are you from? And I'm like, I'm Mexican. Sometimes I, I say more like, I haven't said Mexican American yet, but I'm like, no. So in Mexico and, and now that in the future if I will have the dual citizenship, you know, I will officially be an adopted Mexican. Um, but yeah, but never be afraid to learn the language. And you have to keep. Learning and keeping it alive too as you grow. Because I have noticed that if I'm not reading in Spanish, my Spanish comes down. That's part of being bilingual. Like if you're not l working a language, like one of the languages will kind of suffer a little bit and then the other one will be higher. And it just fluctuate like that. It's normal that that happens.'cause sometimes, um, when I even tell like at the middle school level, um, my English sounded more choppy at the beginning of the school year, and then towards the end of the school year it got better. Um, but then my Spanish kind of came down. So I was like, so the way I keep myself, you know, keeping myself like stronger in Spanish, it's like, okay, I have to be reading, I have to be listening to podcasts. The same thing that they tell us, like with English, like English, you have to, besides doing maybe the. Um, you using an app to learn English. It's like, okay, you have to watch the movies in English. You have to read books, you know, so it's the same thing with Spanish. It is just, you have to use it in that language. Um, so you just have to like, be aware of that and be willing to put in the effort. And obviously if you don't want to raise your child bilingual, there's nothing wrong with it. That's just your decision.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 39:46

Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 39:46

Um, I feel like the way we raise our children is just so private, so unique, and it just depends on the values that you want to add, um, to your children or the opportunities and the possibilities. Um, for us it's, it has always been to have our son, like, not just have a strong identity, but in the future, if he wants to go and live in Mexico, he can do that. If he wants to like travel anywhere else, um, and meet different people, know about different cultures, I just want him to have those possibilities and opportunities. Um, kind of like when my, when I was being raised, my parents would always say, I want you to go to school so you can have an education.'cause I didn't get it. Like I would always, my parents would always tell me that. Um, and I was so obedient to that, that I even said no to dating when I was in high school until I met my husband. But, um, um, my dad was like, Nope. School, either you're dating or school. Like, he was like, school is not negotiable. Right? It's non-negotiable. So I was like, no school. So my parents always kind of raised me that way. Like, I want you to succeed and I want you to go to school to have a better future. So that was like our kind of generation. And now in. Now that I have that we have children now it's like, okay, what Besides that, and we gave that to our children, and if we keep them in school and motivate them to go to college eventually, or just go to a technical college, um, it's like, okay, now I want you to feel, you know, to gain these skills, like in the language or the literacy piece, or become like a strong reader and a writer. Um, and the possibilities of you living somewhere else or getting to know other cultures or giving you the opportunity to pick between Mexico or the United States if you ever want to live somewhere else. So now I feel like the values that we are kind of like providing to our children are really different than just saying, okay, go to school because I want. You to have a better future.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 42:06

Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 42:07

us, we're like in the middle. I feel like we're just stuck in the middle as as a millennial because it's like I feel I have to heal my generational traumas that I have carried,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 42:21

Mm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 42:21

and at the same time raising a bilingual child. At the same time, I want to be a profe a professional, and I want to be a successful mom and a partner, right? A wife. And I feel like we have so much stuff that we have to work on, but I feel like it'll be worth it for us to work on this and our mental health because then hopefully the pattern won't be as heavy or that trauma won't be as heavy for our, our children

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 42:55

Yeah,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 42:56

I feel like, um, we will always. Leave a little scar, maybe a trauma to our children, but at least in my mentality, I'm like, if I can reduce it to a small percentage, a smaller percentage than what I had to carry, like, I feel like that'll be like a success for me as a mom.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 43:17

yeah. Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 43:19

and I feel be with this idea not only the trauma piece, but also like the language and the opportunities I that I want to provide for, um, my son. And I know a lot of you will have, um, your own personal, you know, values and opportunities that you want to provide to your children.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 43:38

Hmm. Yeah. I love it. I love it. And I think, yeah, it all takes, I think it all falls back to like understanding, you know, your situation, who you are, how you grew up, you know where you come

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 43:53

Hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 43:53

that. that perhaps like the way that we were raised was out of survival and now that we're the next generation, right? Is it, um, raising our kids out of intention, out of purpose, out of like, you know, the mission that you wanna create for your kids and. And I love that because I think that's what our parents wanted. Like even though they set these like harsh

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 44:20

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 44:20

it's either school or boyfriend,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 44:22

Yeah.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 44:23

it's either this or that. there was a reason behind it because it was out of the, this like survival mechanism. And now for us, we have these options,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 44:33

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 44:33

if you wanna raise global citizens, like that in itself is a very unique opportunity for our kids to have we never thought about

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 44:41

Mm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 44:42

assimilation

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 44:43

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 44:44

you know? And now it's, it's basically, okay, well we carried on, you know, these like values that we grew up with, you know, these restrictions, these rules, these like survival mechanisms. But now we have that freedom really to choose and pick like what. Type of generation we wanna raise and create and, and I think the sky is the limit. And I think that, as you know, gen, second gen, like millennial

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 45:11

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 45:12

like, because the sky is the limit, we often put a lot of pressure on ourself,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 45:17

Yeah.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 45:18

you know, and

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 45:19

also a negative side to it

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 45:21

Yes. And it

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 45:22

I feel very stressed sometimes about that, and so pressured and confused. So I feel like at the same time, having so much possibilities to provide to your children. Now it's like, wait a minute. Now I'm really confused and like, who am I? Because I feel it's part of this transformation that we are trying to do. We're trying to heal our inner child that we have carried all these years. While at the same time raising a child, and while at the same time, it's like you also want to have your own Dr. Like we all have our own dreams and aspirations in life, and we want to keep achieving them, not just because, uh, for me, like not just because I'm a mom, it means like I want to stop doing what I love and stop fulfilling my dreams. Because the other day I realized and I was like, my husband and I, we will be by ourselves again eventually. And we have to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves individually, like with our health, physically, mentally, but also in our marriage. Because then like my son will go, and I'm left alone and what am I left with? So. I feel like it's part of like this transformation, like it also has this side of like, now I feel confused. Now I am so harsh on myself. I put a lot of pressure, but I feel this is where it comes, like, okay, you have to ground yourself and you have to realize like you can, you have all these possibilities and opportunities, but you just have to pick the ones that you really do want to focus on.'cause then we'll just, yeah, I will drive myself crazy if I, if I want to do everything.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 47:13

Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. I think it's all about that reflection piece that you

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 47:19

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 47:19

Like delving deep and what is your purpose? What is, how do you wanna create this like motherhood

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 47:29

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 47:29

yours? And I think there isn't a right or wrong wage. Same thing as like raising bilingual kids. Like there isn't a right or wrong way. There isn't like a manual on how to raise, you know, a bilingual

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 47:40

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 47:41

And I think it just all depends on what. You want out of it, right? Like, how, how are you going to set the example, you know, what is your reason behind why you wanna raise a bilingual kid? And I think, yeah, it, it's funny how it's all interconnected. Yeah, it is. But, um, you, as an educator, what are some of the things that you notice with like, you know, your students and some of the common mis misconceptions that families often have, um, especially now as you as a reading

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 48:14

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 48:15

do you, um, still see like a common, you know, common concerns that parents share? And what do you kind of wanna debunk based on those misconceptions?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 48:27

Yeah. Um, with my experiences. In the bilingual classroom with bilingual education. Um, I feel a lot of the misconceptions were a lack of knowledge of the parents and like understanding how a bilingual system works. And I feel it's part of the United States too, the education system'cause it's broken. And I feel if the school doesn't have good communication with the parents in educating their children or creating, um, this culture within the school for parents to kind of see how children learn and what tools we use to teach them, you know, like English and Spanish. Um, I feel like a lot of parents will feel confused and like, what are they really, truly learning? Um, and a lot of the parents sometimes would ask me, like during teacher conferences, like, um. How can I help my child, um, improve in the reading in English or Spanish? Um, and I would, uh, always like encourage them, like, make sure you're like doing the homework or reading at home. Um, and I would have to like show the parents besides being the teacher of the student, I was also the teacher of the parent.'cause I had to teach them like, okay, this is, you know, the a, b, C chart. I feel like a lot of parents don't understand and they're not aware of the importance of that because it all starts in either language, Spanish or English. Like you always have to start with the ABCs, but it's not just like the song. Um, you have to learn the letter names, you have to learn the sounds, you have to know that there's VS. And consonants and how we combine all that to make a word. And it's just like very deep. And once parents understand, very simple. Techniques that they can use at home, they will start understanding like, okay, it doesn't matter if I dunno English, like I'm, I can still help my child, you know, at home by doing the homework. Because the students are the ones that will educate the parents like, no, my teacher said this. This is how you do it. Um, so the parents have to be just willing and open to be taught by their children, like,'cause they're the ones at school. Um, so just allow yourself to learn along with your child. Um, it doesn't matter if you only want, because I had a lot of parents that would always tell me, oh.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 51:07

Mm-hmm.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 51:11

Um, and the parents just felt they weren't capable of helping their child because the lack of education that they just didn't get. Um, and I'm like, no. Like you don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed of your experience. Um, so. Let me show you how we teach them. Um, and you can just keep practicing it at home. Um,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 51:34

Yeah.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 51:35

supporting the parents that way, and also like even if they don't know English, just allowing yourself to, you know, have that student, your child, teach you what they're learning. Hopefully your school has a good school culture that will invite parents into the classroom because a lot of, um, at one of the schools I was at, we created like community events where parents could actually come to the classroom and look, um, just observe a lesson that a teacher was doing. Um, and we would have like a really good turnout because our parents, our Latino parents really. Wanted to help their child and they were willing to, you know, learn those things. So sometimes like part of these misconceptions can be around the idea of like, okay, I don't know English, I don't know Spanish. Um, so, but if you are just willing to, you know, ask the teachers for help, can you teach me how, um, what can we practice at home? Um, just given your child that responsibility and accountability in asking them, okay, can you teach me how you learn it in at home?'cause sometimes I would have parents tell me, like, um, my child doesn't want me to teach, to teach them anything because they told me like they know how you're teaching them. And if I teach them a specific way because, um, um, me, my casino, or Right. So the children are just like. So loyal to the teacher. Um, and I know hopefully you have good experiences with the teachers of, of your children, but, uh, truly a good teacher will, you know, will have that, will, um, teach the, the children and then they will feel very confident in like, okay, my teacher's telling me it's this way. Um, so yeah. So just allow yourself to, you know, learn along the way. Like you don't have to, you know, feel that you have to be an expert.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 53:45

And especially for, you know, parents who are navigating a totally new school

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 53:51

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 53:51

And I think this is a really good reminder of, you know, just like the same way as you're being intentional raising bilingual kids or supporting them school activities, like you also have to do the work in continuing on, you know, what is being taught in school. And I love that. I know it's a lot of work. I know,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 54:12

Being a parent is, a lot of

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 54:14

it's a lot of work. I mean, it's a whole, whole ass commitment.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 54:17

just transforms you. Like just being a mom, like speaking from, you know, as a Latina mom, it's just a lot. It, it's a lot of work, but as long as you know that why behind it and your purpose, and it'll really help you keep going and you'll find different ways of like, how can you become better as not just because you want to become a better mom?'cause all of us want to become better moms, but it's just like, just a better version of yourself because once you don't have those. Uh, little children at home and they grow up and they leave your home. Okay? You're left with those skills, with all that work that you did when your children were young. So you really have to like, it all comes back to you, um, in saying like, how can I improve right now and be the best version of myself? Not just because I want to be the best mom, but also because like, I want to be just the best version of who I am. Um, and, and that way like when your children leave, you don't feel like, okay, now I'm lost. I didn't do anything with like, I dedicated my whole life to my children, and you just feel completely lost. Um, and I feel part of that is because like we just want to give everything to our children and we forget to. Also take care of us. And it's really hard, especially if you don't have a partner. Um, it's just really hard. And eventually I feel like life will give you those opportunities to focus on yourself. Um,'cause I, there was a point where, um, my mom was a single mom and part of that responsibility being the oldest, was you have to act as like this masculine. I feel like I decided to take this masculine side of me that I'm very feminine. And, um, and I feel like I just kind of realized that, um, recently and pretending to take responsibilities that I wasn't supposed to take. Um, and living in a home where like my mom was a single mom, it's like, it was really hard because in that point, obviously it's different for our children, but. Um, at that point, like you just have to kind of survive and take these, um, you know, filling that your, uh, father's shoes. And, um, and I feel now with single moms, I can't imagine like, you know, trying to do everything and, um, and not feeling like you are like failing and you're not. You're just trying to do the best you can with what you have, um, and your children. And you might forget, you know, to even eat sometimes or to go to the gym, but eventually, like life will kind of pay you back with, with like having that time to yourself to transform yourself.'cause I can tell you that now my mom, she is, um, in her sixties, early sixties, and. She's now focusing on like, okay, I want to get healthier and I want to, um, start working out. And there's never like a age to really like want to transform your life. Um, my mom wasn't able to probably dedicate a lot of her, um, self love and self care to herself when she was a single mom, but then eventually she, she did. Like right now, um, sometimes I feel like we want things like immediate in the moment, but we just have to realize like, okay, maybe it'll be like a different season in my life where I will be able to do that. So just know that if you feel like, you know, motherhood is just very heavy because you might be by yourself, um, there will be a moment in your life where you'll be like, okay, I can take care of myself more. Um, right now I'm more of a survival mode kind of versus a. Transforming my life or learning. So just knowing that, um, there's always like the time, the right moment will come. It's just, I feel we have to be patient. And a lot of our patients right now is not really, it's not really there. We want everything like so fast and quick and easy solutions.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 59:04

I appreciate you sharing that. It definitely gives perspective, you know, as human beings, we evolve and part of that, like, it's, it's that you need to accept the fact that you're gonna be in different, you know, chapters of your life. And, and that's just a part of life. Like we cannot be stagnant. At this very moment, if we're struggling, um, we have to understand that, yeah. Like even as much as we want this to go fast because outta survival, like it will have its moment where it'll end and you're gonna proceed into the next chapter and the next one. It's like the newborn

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 59:41

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 59:42

Like first 12 weeks felt like forever. And when I think about it, like the easiest

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 59:50

I know, I know. Because now my son that he's five and a half, and it's just like, he'll ask these big questions too, and it's like, how do I answer them?

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:00:03

I know.

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:00:04

So

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:00:05

Like we were not prepared for

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:00:07

no.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:00:07

but, but that's just part of that evolvement piece. And, and yeah, it's, yeah. I think we just have to take things, know, at the moment that they're in and. Embrace it and, you know, accept the fact and then you're gonna move on to the next thing and, and

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:00:26

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:00:26

I'm glad that, you know, your mom has, is now prioritizing on herself. And you know, right now we're in the thick of it, of like raising kids, but then we're also going to be in this new chapter later on and being empty nest

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:00:41

Yeah. Or taking care of our parents too. That'll be,'cause I'm seeing it with my mom. She is going through that right now with my grandma and that's kind of motivating my mom to take care of herself and her health.'cause she doesn't want to get to that point, um, as like the severity of my grandma's health. Um, and I feel like. The, when our parents become, you know, when they get to the, their age, if they live like in their eighties or nineties, it's, it's going to be a different experience for us if we kind of help our parents right now, you know, motivating them to take care of themselves. It'll also help us because like we will also like, you know, have a life, but you also don't want to, you know, lose yourself by supporting a lot of your parents during that phase. But that's why I'm motivating, you know, my mom to like, okay, mom, like, you have to get healthy now. So that way we don't have to go through different difficult situations in the future. Um, so it's also like a little bit of like, we kind of have to motivate our parents right now to get healthy, um, not only physically, but I feel like even how with faith too, and like if you. Whatever religion or you believe in, like just having them, you know, become healthy with body, mind, and spirit. Um, I feel it's really going to help them and it's also going to help us.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:15

Yeah. Yes. I love

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:02:17

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:18

Yeah. Yeah. I love how we first started out with like raising bilingual

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:02:22

Yep. And now our parents,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:24

to, yeah. It, it's all tied

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:02:26

it's everything.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:27

intergenerational, like, you know, it's, it's all about improving the next generation. Right. And especially because, like you said, we're right in the middle,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:02:38

For like someone sandwich, it's like,

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:41

Yeah. Yeah. It's, we're doing the work in everything, but it's

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:02:45

Hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:02:45

important to take care of ourselves, our mental health, you know, and I think with our generation, I'm glad that at least we're open to break generational cycles, right. That we're mindful of that, and that we also get to prioritize on our mental health, just because there are resources out there and we know that we can grasp onto them just because of technology or because

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:03:08

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:03:10

you know, have a job that can allow us to afford healthcare. Right. So like all of these things, and it's important to be mindful of that for

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:03:19

Yeah, because I, I have been seeing, this is my ninth year in education, and I have been seeing a big correlation and connection between the parents' mental health and how the students are performing. So if the parents are not, you know, receiving therapies or they have traumas that they have been carrying throughout the years, um, it's going to be reflected in their child's education. Bilingual or not bilingual. Um, and we will see it, uh, at schools. We see it mostly because of the academics or the behavior. Um, most of the time we think like, oh, my son or daughter is just being, or something. But maybe you should kind of, if you go through a situation like that, it's like, okay, what is going on maybe in the home that could be affecting my child? What do I have to heal? Maybe it's how I'm responding to a situation. Um, so a lot of the behavior or academic performance we're seeing right now has to deal with the parents, um, the mental health of the parents or the lack of participation.'cause we have been seeing like the, if parents are not quite, um, then we're noticing that okay, the student is really struggling. Um, not just in the academics, but also like the social emotional aspect of it.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:04:49

thanks for putting it out there from an educator's perspective especially. So I have one final question for you that I ask all of the mommies here on the show, and that is, how are you redefining Madre Hood?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:05:00

I am redefining motherhood by starting with me, by healing past traumas I have carried. Um, since my childhood and early teens and really using that trauma and the healing that I have made to pick the new values and the skills I want to leave, uh, I want to teach or leave my son with. Um, and I just want to be able to provide all these possibilities for him. Um, and by providing possibilities, they can make their own decisions and they can have different opportunities that we didn't have. Um, but I feel right now I'm trying to really transform myself, not only just for me, but by transforming myself. It'll reflect into that mom that I do want to be. Um, for my son and the way that I want him to remember me, the way I want, um, him to have a relationship with me. cause when he grows up, I still want him to come to me and seek for advice or that will, like, spending time with me versus pushing him away. Um, so I feel like motherhood for me right now is transforming myself, getting to know myself more and just reflecting that, um, as I am being his mom and raising him.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:06:39

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for all of this. This is part of why I love the VLM Spotlight series, because these episodes I get to talk with,

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:06:53

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:06:53

moms. And then even though. You are a professional, right? Like you get to share one part of your story that can really make an impact, and hopefully whoever's listening or watching can really, you know, get a couple nuggets of what you shared through your experience. And, and that's just part of this journey, right? That motherhood shouldn't be alone. It shouldn't be an isolating journey. Like we can pick from, you know, people's experiences and voices and we can kind of mold it into what we want out of it. And so I really wanna thank you for being here. Um, you're also starting new content and you know, kind of going out there. So can you share how people can follow you and connect with you?

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:07:36

Yeah. Well, thank you. I just want to say thanks for providing me this space to share my story, um, and just to share a lot of the knowledge I, I have as an educator, but just as a mom. Um. And yeah, so on Instagram you can find me as Cynthia and then underscore res with a number two at the end.'cause I couldn't just use res so that two at the end. Um, and my content right now is a lot based on like motherhood and identity and culture and aspects of like, uh, ways in how you can help your child become a reader. I really want to create more content and like, how can I help, um, Latina moms understand like the science behind how a child reads, what are some simple things that you can do at home to help your child? And just by understanding the process of how a child reads will help you, um, see the value behind how you have to, you know, practice that specific skill. The content I'm going to be sharing more. It's like on the personal side as a mom and Mexican American, but also like adding those pieces of like bilingual education and helping our children become readers.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:08:57

Yes, I love it. And I think it is very much needed, especially for bilingual households. So I am very excited for you to grow your platform and to share and educate, people about this very important topic. So thank you

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:09:10

Thank you so much.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:09:11

being here. I really appreciate it. It's been very great. I love this

cynthia-_1_03-05-2026_100523 1:09:15

Thank you so much.

jessica_1_03-05-2026_100544 1:09:16

so thank you.