My daughter's first words were all in English. For 18 mths, she was with me day (and night) and hearing English, so it never occurred to me that there would come a time when she might prefer speaking French....

And that day has come around rather quickly. I had pushed to the back of my mind the fact that she calls me 'mama', and answers 'oui' when I pose a question. But this weekend I finally had to admit that my little girl is a Parisienne, and she wants to speak French. She's been testing me by saying 'mummy' and then 'maman' and watching to see my reaction. For some reason, this was the final thing that needed to fall into place for me to realise that there is every chance that she will grow up more comfortable speaking French than English.

Admittedly, it's not very reasonable of me. Her Papa is French, she lives in France - what could be more logical than that she prefers French? But I have taken it very personally, as though for the last year she and I have been allies in Englishness and now she's abandoned me by making this simple step over into another language. A language that I am still struggling to learn and find unremittingly difficult.

So, my question is: should I keep fighting? If I make English an obligation, won't she resist even harder? I spent last night scouring the internet for English language schools in Paris, and discovered (as if I didn't know already) that we live in the wrong area and can't afford to live in one of the arrondissements that is overflowing with English-language schools.

I do have one weapon in my armoury though: her deep, deep love for Makka Pakka. Until my daughter was a year old, I was careful to avoid exposing her to the evils of television...mindful of the dangers of ruining her powers of concentration at an early age and causing an addiction to TV shows designed to market own-brand products to small, vulnerable minds. Then I got pregnant again and oh, soooo sick. At this point, DVDs saved my life. And now my Mum has sent over a DVD of In The Night Garden, and this appears to be the key to keeping my little one interested in speaking English. Even if her vocabulary is all about the Ninky Nonk. Ah well.