She is not very confident in new places and is afraid to say “NO” to others. My questions are: 1. Since she is bilingual (Bulgarian and English) and constantly switching between 2 cultures (Bulgarian grandparents live in the house and watch her and her brother when we work, my husband is American born) is it better to have a native English speaker watching her?

Answer

Does your daughter feel more confident in Bulgarian? If so, and she is in an English speaking preschool, I suggest helping her build her English skills. Perhaps she can teach her teacher Bulgarian??!! Our kids tend to like to be the big shots and knowing something that someone else might not know is a tremendous self esteem booster. Starting with basic colors and numbers is a great way to start. Alone time, one on one with her teacher where focus in on the activity she is working on, rather than looking at her teach directly.