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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Has anyone hired a bilingual nanny so that their children can learn a second language?  If so, has it worked?  Were language skills delayed at all by trying to learn two languages?  We are considering this now and would like to know the pros and cons to this approach.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share![/quote]

Could you please provide some details?

1. How old will your child be when you hire the nanny?

2. How many hours a week will she work with your child? How long do you hope to employ her? Can you afford a well-educated nanny, rather than the cheaper broken-English nanny?

3. Who else will speak with your child in the second language (if anyone)?

Everyone is assuming the second language will be Spanish. Is that correct?

You understand that English will obviously be delayed, but some aren't concerned about that. Heck, lots of children are now language delayed even when there's only English. Some of these delayed children actually learned sign language first, so English has become their second language. I haven't seen any studies looking at that. I've seen a number of children who adamantly resist speaking if they can successfully communicate in sign language. People should think about possible consequences before jumping into this.

Good that OP is trying to think this through. I'd recommend speaking with adults who learned two or three languages in early childhood, and ask lots of questions and seek advice from them, rather than from adults who never had the experience.

[/quote]

There is actually no data at all that bilingual kids talk later or that teaching baby sign to kids delays them speaking. No data whatsoever. It is rare parents that teach their kids sign language are actually even fluent. Using it is a few signs for hungry, thirsty, tired, and various food or beverages and that is it.  Definitely not a full language.

For kids to have sign language as their first language, they would have to be spoken to in full ASL by someone who is fluent in it.

IF a kid is going to have a language delay, then raising them bilingual could make that delay more apparent, but statistically kids who are bilingual do not speak later and have no higher chance of having a language delay than a monolingual kid. [/quote]

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