Found a daycare for my infant, but they only speak Spanish to the kids

[Anonymous]

Hi, we finally found an affordable daycare near our home that has availability when we need it. The only thing I'm concerned about is that during the day, they only speak to the kids in Spanish. I know it's great for kids to learn other languages early, but as a first-time mom I'm concerned that my daughter will be spending more of her hours awake learning Spanish than English, and neither I or my husband speak Spanish. Any thoughts on this?

[Anonymous]

This is a wonderful opportunity for your daughter to achieve bilingualism if you continue Spanish-speaking care as she gets older (if her FT caregiver speaks it until she is 5 or 6, she will be well set to continue using it or, if the opportunity wanes, to pick it up again when she gets older). From a linguist's perspective, there is no problem at all with how much time she spends exposed to either language - English will be the dominant language of her life, so you don't need to worry about her not getting enough exposure to that, and this type of intensive exposure to Spanish is what trains the brain to use the language later. You might find she does a lot of switching (speaking in one language then dropping in words from the other) and she might speak a little later than she otherwise would have, but not necessarily either. There is absolutely no problem at all in this type of arrangement.

[Anonymous]

My concern would be communication with you - can they communicate with you well enough to understand your concerns and wishes as well as to tell you their concerns, describe your child's day, and so on?

[Anonymous]

17:29, Are you saying that children don't need to have a "mother tongue"? If I was OP, I'd be concerned to. As a bilingual person, I do not think this is a good way to do it. Speech therapy classing are booming these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:29, Are you saying that children don't need to have a "mother tongue"? If I was OP, I'd be concerned to. As a bilingual person, I do not think this is a good way to do it. Speech therapy classing are booming these days.

English will be their native tongue because that is what DC will hear and speak at home and while out in their community.

I actually only studied Linguistics in college... but then I became a Speech Pathologist! I can assure you NONE of the children we see are patients because of the way in which they were introduced to a second language. The issues people talk about are short-term, temporary "problems" that resolve themselves in time - the same way every child's own developmental timeline is different, the addition of a language can change them a bit but in no way affects the long-term abilities (by long-term I mean by the time they're starting preschool or kindergarden).

OP, this daycare is perfectly safe for her language (and other intellectual) development.

[Anonymous]

Why not post this is the daycare section and see if other parents do this?
Really this is a nanny section not daycare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17:29, Are you saying that children don't need to have a "mother tongue"? If I was OP, I'd be concerned to. As a bilingual person, I do not think this is a good way to do it. Speech therapy classing are booming these days.

English will be their native tongue because that is what DC will hear and speak at home and while out in their community.

I actually only studied Linguistics in college... but then I became a Speech Pathologist! I can assure you NONE of the children we see are patients because of the way in which they were introduced to a second language. The issues people talk about are short-term, temporary "problems" that resolve themselves in time - the same way every child's own developmental timeline is different, the addition of a language can change them a bit but in no way affects the long-term abilities (by long-term I mean by the time they're starting preschool or kindergarden).

OP, this daycare is perfectly safe for her language (and other intellectual) development.

What do you believe are the factors that contribute to the increasing "speech delays"?

[Anonymous]

Personally i would not be comfortable iwth it but i recognize it as my own hang-up. Objectively, if you WANT them to learn Spanish then this would be great. One big IF though - IF the providers are also very fluent in English. I would not be comfortable not being able to communicate well with them nor relying on someone else to convey my concerns to them by interpretation. So if they choose to speak Spanish as a stimulation tool but also know English then it would be good/fine. If it is becasue they themselves don't speak english then i would be worried.

[Anonymous]

How do you know they speak proper Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you know they speak proper Spanish?

One of my bilingual McLean friends, says that parents would be shocked if they knew what kind of Spanish their children were learning from these nannies.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you live in an area where many people speak Spanish? I ask this because I live in San Diego, CA and many people here speak Spanish and those that speak both English + Spanish are at an advantage...esp. in the job market.

Anyway, I think it is a wonderful gift to give your child the ability to learn and eventually speak another language.
If you and your husband both speak to her in English on a regular basis which you probably do, then it is highly unlikely she will grow up only speaking Spanish.

It sounds like she will be brought up in both languages which will be such a benefit to her in the future.

I say don't worry about this.
English will be her first and primary language.

[Anonymous]

FYI~

There is no such thing as "proper" Spanish.

This is a huge misconception/myth.

[Anonymous]

I'm an MB. Our nanny is Venezuelan and while her English is great she speaks primarily spanish w/ our kids. I have been amazed at how little it impacts their ability to learn english simultaneously. They are 20 mths and know the words for all kinds of things in both languages (and they also know that we'll use English and she'll use Spanish and tailor their responses accordingly).

They understand as much Spanish as English, and are at normal developmental levels in comprehension and speech in both languages.

Don't worry about it - it will be hugely enriching for your daughter and it won't impact her ability to learn from and communicate with you at all.

My only concern, as another poster said, would be ensuring that they can communicate effectively with you in English. Other than that, if you like the program and staff I wouldn't worry about it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI~

There is no such thing as "proper" Spanish.

This is a huge misconception/myth.

This statement is crazy. Every language has correct, and incorrect, grammer.

[Anonymous]

"This statement is crazy. Every language has correct, and incorrect, grammer. "

agree. Also, there is a version that is used in professional contexts and then there are dialects. The latter are typically not considered professional for use in international work or in business settings.