Madonna has difficulty understanding her own children - because they speak in French all the time.

Lourdes - Madonna's daughter by personal trainer Carlos Leon - and son Rocco, through marriage to British director Guy Ritchie, attend London's exclusive Lycee Francais School where they are taught the language.

"Rocco is certainly picking up a lot of French. He speaks it all the time at home because Lourdes is fluent. They talk to each other in French all day, chatting away non-stop," said Guy Ritchie's father, John Ritchie.

"It's very funny. Neither Guy nor Madonna speak a word of the language so they cannot understand anything."

The website said that although the pop diva was pleased her children were becoming bilingual, she felt a bit left out of their conversations.