Raising Hearing Children

"Mother father deaf" is a phrase commonly used in the deaf community to identify a hearing child of deaf parents. Statistic shows that over 90 % of all deaf parents have hearing children referred to as CODA (Children of Deaf Adults.) Most of hearing of deaf parents have two bi-languages and bi-cultural: American Sign Language (ASL) and English, and Deaf and hearing cultures. It gives them the advantages and disadvantages on living both worlds.

The advantage parts are:

1) Able to use both languages: able to pick up a third or more different language easily

2) Able to accept other kinds of disabilities easily

3) custom of reading closed captioned and reading books at early ages

4) tend to have excellent relationships between the deaf parents and hearing children (Rienzi, B "Influences and Adaptability in Families with Deaf Parents and Hearing children.")

5) learn more "sounds" from the hearing children such as telling us the oven is ready (We have always look at the temperature before putting the food in it.)

The disadvantage parts are:

1) don't always interpret everything the insensitive remarks or comments made by a hearing person (Filer &Filer, "Practical Considerations for Counselors Working with Hearing Children of Deaf Parents')

2) become hyper vigilant, listening for that their parents could not hear such as "monsters," burglars, smoke alarms, and cracking sounds of the ceiling collapsing

3) Cannot hear any fights between the siblings' or friends' comments

4) worry a lot more when I take showers or wake up finding them out of the bed before me

However, David and I are very fortunately that we do keep our technology and research up. So that way our mischievous boys cannot trick us !