An attempt is made, using a partial review of the literature, to present a non-technical overview of some of the child-related issues in simultaneous bilingualism. While controversy still rages in the area of bilingualism research, some definite changes can be discerned over the past 40 years. Opinion has shifted from a deficiency perspective to an attempt to identify a process. Increasingly, researchers are attempting to isolate the many variables involved in linguistic and communicative competence. Some of these variables are the underlying intelligence of the speaker, socioeconomic and educational background, balance and quality of input, social context, and socio-political acceptance and acceptability of the two languages spoken. While there is an abundance of available research and literature on the subject, there is a corresponding dearth of agreement about most elements. Most researchers agree that more work is required before a consensus is possible about the relative benefits and disadvantages of bilingualism when separated from extraneous variables. Discussion focuses on cognitive factors in language acquisition, cognitive effects of bilingualism, patterns of acquisition, and the difficulty of maintaining bilingualism. A concluding neurophysiologic note and a summary are also included. (RH)