Can you teach your child French if you're not fluent?

Yes. You don't need fluency to give your child French. You need a few phrases you say every day, a clear model of how they sound, and a moment to say them in. Bedtime is the easiest one to start with.

What you’re allowed to stop worrying about

Your accent. Your grammar. The subjunctive. Your child doesn’t need you to sound like a newsreader. They need French that’s warm, regular and theirs.

What does matter

  1. The same words, every day. Ten bedtime phrases said every night go further than a hundred said once.
  2. A clear model. Audio for every phrase, so your child hears French said cleanly alongside your version of it.
  3. A moment to say them in. A ritual your child already cares about: the story, the bath, the last kiss.

What it gives, and what it needs alongside

A non-fluent parent’s French gives a child understanding, a warm feeling about the language, and often a child who answers back. On its own, it rarely makes a child fully bilingual. Add other French to their week as it comes: songs, books, a playgroup, a grandparent, school.

When they answer in English

They will. It means they understood. Say their answer back in French and carry on. That’s la reprise, and it does more than any correction.

Start tonight

One phrase, at the bedroom door: C’est l’heure du dodo. It’s bedtime. That’s the whole first step.

Your first three phrases

All three are from the Le Dodo bedtime script. Tap play, then say it to your child.

  • C'est l'heure du dodo. It's bedtime. Say it say-LUR du doh-doh
  • On met le pyjama. Pyjamas on. Say it on may luh pee-zha-MA
  • Bonne nuit, mon chéri. Good night, my darling. Say it bon NWEE, mon shay-REE

Free bedtime script

Start with one phrase tonight

The Le Dodo script gives you ten bedtime phrases, each with a say-it guide.

Ten bedtime phrases, each with a say-it guide, on one page for the bedroom door.

Three emails over your first week to get bedtime started, and you can leave whenever you like.

Questions parents ask

Will my accent confuse my child?

No. Your child hears French from the audio as well as from you, and your warm, imperfect French still counts in full.

How much French do I need to start?

Enough to say one phrase. The scripts give you the phrase, a say-it guide and the audio.

Can a non-native parent raise a bilingual child?

Home rituals give a child understanding and a warm feeling about French. Full bilingualism needs more French in their week as well: a playgroup, family, school or a French-speaking friend.

What if I make mistakes?

You will, and that's fine. A sentence with a mistake in it is still French spoken out loud. The sentence you don't say is the only one that does nothing.

Keep going

Updated 16 October 2026