For generations, mothers have sung the Spanish lullaby “Los Pollitos Dicen” to their newborns.  The simple, yet powerful lyrics of this lullaby tell the tale of newborn chicks ( “pollitos”) calling for their mother when they are cold or hungry.  The song has permeated culture so deeply that today it is common for Latina moms to refer to their babies as “pollitos” as an homage to the song. 

Perhaps it’s the thought of fluffy yellow chicks with eyes half closed, stumbling about, peeping for help that makes the song so endearing. Or perhaps it’s the image of the mother hen kneeling down to envelop her chicks under her wing to keep them warm, that makes the song so sweet.  Whatever the reason, this story of newborn love will always be the perfect song to lull a baby to sleep. 

Many lullabies and nursery rhymes have been around for so many generations that we no longer know who wrote the original. For years, the author of “Los Pollitos Dicen” was also unknown. It was writer Rienaldo Marchant who stumbled upon the identity of the songwriter during his time teaching language and literature workshops in Pichidegua, Chile. It was there that a local farmer pointed out to Marchant the home of Ismael Parraguez, the author of this now classic song.  

After some research, Marchant was able to confirm that Ismael Parraguez, born in 1883 in the Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins region of Chile, was indeed the original author. Mr. Parraguez first published the song in his book “Poesías Infantiles” or “Nursery Poems” in 1907.

The song quickly became popular not only in Chile but across all of Latin America.  Generations later, it’s been translated into English, French, Portuguese, and many other languages. 

And just like a mother’s love for her “pollitos” is ever-lasting, so “Los Pollitos Dicen” lives on for generations to come.    

You can find these and other children’s songs on our YouTube children’s channel, which includes many videos to foster bilingualism. Los Pollitos is also available in book form, to read to children any time of day.

Manners matter. We all want our kids to be well-mannered citizens of the world and teaching them to be so shouldn’t have to be boring. 

While manners include everything from saying “please” and “thank you” to offering compliments and exhibiting proper etiquette at the dinner table, the easiest place to start teaching manners is with greetings. 

Proper greetings like “Hello” or “Good morning” are the first step for your little one to establish a relationship with a new friend or to make a great first impression with her teacher at the start of the school day.

Here are a few tips to help your little ones practice greeting phrases:

• Use Songs: There are so many bilingual songs to choose from but our favorite is the very simple but very fun “Hello, good morning”.  Watch our Little Chickies greet each other and greet the day in our catchy sing-along video here, and check out our YouTube education channel for more tunes. 

They can learn these phrases in English and in Spanish…so they can greet twice as many friends!

A simple “hello” in someone’s native language goes a long way to establish a connection with someone. Nothing makes a person smile more than knowing that a stranger is trying to speak to them in their own language.  Learning to say “hello” in multiple languages can be fun! 

Sing in English. Sing in Spanish. Sing in Spanglish! 

Sing every morning to salute the day with joy and to establish the behavior. 

• Role Play: Use your child’s favorite stuffed animals and throw a pretend tea party or birthday party.  Ask your child to greet each animal as he/she arrives at the party with phrases like “Hello” and “Thanks for coming.” 

You can respond with your most sweet bunny voice with “Hi. How are you?.” and with the most majestic wave of your elephant trunk with a “Nice to see you”. 

Act out shaking hands, paws, trunks, etc. and giving snuggly hugs.  Switch roles to allow your child to role play as his/her favorite lovie. 

Soon your little one will get the hang of it and start to realize how nice it feels to greet and be greeted with a warm welcome.

As you try these creative ways to help your little one learn the concept of greetings, don’t forget your own manners and express gratitude for their effort. “Thank you” and “Gracias” are among the sweetest words they can hear from you.