How to Talk to Kids in Spanish — Simple Phrases for Everyday Life

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The most useful Spanish phrases for kids aren’t the ones in textbooks. They’re the ones you say before you’ve had your first cup of coffee — get up, brush your teeth, let’s go, time to eat. The phrases that happen automatically because they’re attached to things you’re already doing.

Those are the phrases worth starting with. Not because they’re easy — though they are — but because they’re real. Your child hears them every single day, in context, attached to something they understand. That repetition is how language actually sticks.

This is the foundation Crecemos is built on: the Spanish that lives in daily life, not in lesson plans. You don’t need to schedule Spanish time to use these phrases. You just need to say them — at breakfast, at bedtime, during the ten moments a day when you’re already talking to your kids anyway.

Start with one section. Use those phrases every day for a week. Add another section when they feel natural. That’s it.

Basic Spanish Words to Start With

These are the first words worth making automatic. Simple, high-frequency, attached to moments that happen every day.

• Hola – Hello
• Por favor – Please
• Gracias – Thank you
• De nada – You’re welcome
• A comer – Time to eat
• Vámonos – Let’s go
• ¡Mira! – Look!
• Adiós – Goodbye
• A la cama – Time for bed

Questions to Ask Your Kids in Spanish

Questions do something that statements don’t — they require a response. Even a child who can’t produce Spanish yet will start to understand these questions through repetition and eventually answer them.

• ¿Cuántos hay? – How many are there?
• ¿Dónde estás? – Where are you?
• ¿Te gusta? – Do you like it?
• ¿Tienes sed? – Are you thirsty?
• ¿Tienes hambre? – Are you hungry?
• ¿Quieres más? – Do you want more?
• ¿Acabaste? – Are you done?
• ¿Quieres leer? – Do you want to read?
• ¿Quieres jugar? – Do you want to play?
• ¿Cómo te sientes? – How do you feel?
• ¿Cómo estás? – How are you?
• ¿Te ayudo? – Can I help you?

Daily Phrases for Morning, Meals, and Bedtime

These are the phrases that anchor the day. Morning and bedtime routines are the easiest places to build Spanish habits because they happen at the same time every day — which means the repetition is built in.

• Buenos días – Good morning
• Buenas tardes – Good afternoon
• Buenas noches – Good night
• Ten cuidado – Be careful
• Bien hecho – Well done
• Intenta otra vez – Try again
• Dime otra vez – Tell me again
• Te quiero – I love you
• Te extraño – I miss you

Chore and Routine Phrases

These are the phrases that come up during the practical moments of the day — the transitions, the tasks, the things you ask your kids to do a dozen times before they actually do them. In Spanish.

• Cepíllate los dientes – Brush your teeth
• Lávate las manos – Wash your hands
• Tiende la cama – Make your bed
• Póntelos zapatos – Put on your shoes
• Amárrate los zapatos – Tie your shoes
• Pon la mesa – Set the table
• Cierra la puerta – Close the door
• Guarda los juguetes – Pick up your toys
• Apágalo – Turn it off
• Apaga la luz – Turn off the light

How to Actually Use These Phrases

You don’t need to be fluent to use these phrases. You don’t need to pronounce them perfectly. You need to say them — consistently, in the moments they belong to, until they stop feeling like Spanish and start feeling like how your family talks.

A few things that help:

Pick one routine and start there.

Morning is the easiest entry point — Buenos días, A comer, Vámonos. Three phrases. Same order every day. By the end of the week, they’ll feel automatic.

Say the phrase even when you switch to English afterward.

You don’t have to commit to Spanish-only to make progress. Saying ¿Tienes hambre? Before you ask, “Are you hungry?” in English, it still gives your child daily exposure to the Spanish phrase in context.

Let your child hear you make mistakes.

If you mispronounce something, look it up together, try again, and laugh about it. Modeling curiosity and effort matters more than modeling perfect Spanish.

Add one new section at a time.

Start with basic words. When those feel natural, add the questions. When those feel natural, add the daily phrases. Small additions to an existing habit are more sustainable than trying to use everything at once.

Closing Thoughts

The Spanish your child absorbs most deeply isn’t the Spanish they study — it’s the Spanish they hear repeatedly in the moments that matter to them. Bedtime. Breakfast. Playing. Getting ready. The phrases on this list aren’t vocabulary exercises. They’re the texture of daily life in Spanish.

Start small. Say one phrase today. Say it again tomorrow. That’s how a bilingual family is built — one repeated moment at a time.

Keep Going →

→ How to Create a Spanish Study Plan for Your Family — how to build a simple routine around the phrases you’re already using → Bilingual Parenting Methods — which approach to Spanish at home fits your family best → Why Your Child Understands Spanish But Won’t Speak It — what to do when comprehension is ahead of production