language barrier between nanny and toddler

[Anonymous]

I was FT nanny from when she was a newborn for two years. As she learned to speak, she naturally spoke to me in only English. She would automatically go to her parents' native language when they came in, even if we met someone speaking it when we were out. I haven't been the nanny for about 4 months, and am watching her just for this week. Now that her mom is home, they continuously switch between languages. Today, the poor girl had a melt-down because she was asking me for something in the other language so I couldn't understand. From what I've read, bilingual children don't differentiate between the languages for several more years. Does anyone have a recommendation for how to deal in the meantime? Should I call the parents to translate when this happens, or just let it play out? They probably wouldn't mind if I did that once or twice a day. I'll ask them what they think about it tomorrow, but I'm just curious if anyone else has experience with this. Thanks.