[fergonco]

You don't want to try things with your kids.

One language per parent works. The other approaches? It's already quite challenging not to mix language in simple bilingual families.

Your second rule sounds super weird. Are you going to change language as you walk through your door? Additionally, at some point the kid will choose a language. To me does not sound solid.

Maybe you can make a teddy bear use a third language. Not that weird (in the first 5 years, I guess, lol). And that would introduce the kid to it.

EDIT: also if you talk only at home you'll get limited to talk about sofas, order your room and stuff like that.

And if you get more than one kid, all this house of cards will fall. The kids will speak between them whatever they want and you can do very little to change that.

[keiferski]

The thing is that Parent 2 already uses both languages on a daily basis, for work and for life. So in a worst case scenario the two just get mixed for the kid.

Avoiding one or the other isn’t really doable.

[fergonco]

I think it's enough to use one to address to the kid. If the other is present in the environment the kid will learn it to some extent. But I think there is value in simplifying the first steps with language. It's a hell of a struggle. And scary if it does not go well/quick.

I am not an expert, just what I've observed.

[throwaway7ahgb]

You won't have as much control here as you think. Try your best to be consistent as early as possible and hope for the best.

We are not as complex but we're trying this:

Mom (Russian/English): 100% Russian direct to baby, English to others.

Dad (English only): 100% English all the time.

Environment: English