Language Barriers, How Much Longer To Give?

[daycare]

I took on a part time ( 2 days week) child just over a month ago that does not speak English at all. The boy is 2yrs 4months old. I knew going into this that it would be a challenge, but I know that I can find a way to manage, as this is not my first time working with this challenge.

the crying has stopped and he seems to be happy here, however, he is not catching on to any of the routine.

, this boy has been cared for by a Nanny his whole life and is not able to do ANYTHING at all. I guess I should not blame the Nanny, but it just seems like because the child has had one on one care most of his life this is the only way he knows.

I cannot get the child to do anything independently, including the easiest tasks like feeding himself or sitting down when asked. I thought that when he saw the other kids cleaning up that he would do so too when asked. NOPE. I even play the clean up song when we do it, thinking this would help. I have placed toys in hand and shown him what to do, but all with fail. it's almost like he can't hear me because he does not even come when I call his name.

I have to do every single thing for this child and as well all know, it's not really possible to do in a group setting. it is taking my time away from the other children and this just cant continue.

I am thinking that I will need to ask the parents to enroll him for more days, because it is obvious to me that the Nanny is not trying to help put him on a schedule at home as promised by the parents.

For those of you wondering why they have a Nanny at home, it is because they have a younger baby ( I don't take babies) and they want to socialize their son.


how do I talk to the parents about this without sounding like I don't know how to do my job. Do you think that I should give it more time? I am not too sure where to go with this right now. Any advice or thoughts on this would be fantastic.

Also, I am taking on three more kids all full time in about one month, so I need to have this figured out before then.

[Hunni Bee]

Originally Posted by daycare

I took on a part time ( 2 days week) child just over a month ago that does not speak English at all. The boy is 2yrs 4months old. I knew going into this that it would be a challenge, but I know that I can find a way to manage, as this is not my first time working with this challenge.

the crying has stopped and he seems to be happy here, however, he is not catching on to any of the routine.

, this boy has been cared for by a Nanny his whole life and is not able to do ANYTHING at all. I guess I should not blame the Nanny, but it just seems like because the child has had one on one care most of his life this is the only way he knows.

I cannot get the child to do anything independently, including the easiest tasks like feeding himself or sitting down when asked. I thought that when he saw the other kids cleaning up that he would do so too when asked. NOPE. I even play the clean up song when we do it, thinking this would help. I have placed toys in hand and shown him what to do, but all with fail. it's almost like he can't hear me because he does not even come when I call his name.

I have to do every single thing for this child and as well all know, it's not really possible to do in a group setting. it is taking my time away from the other children and this just cant continue.

I am thinking that I will need to ask the parents to enroll him for more days, because it is obvious to me that the Nanny is not trying to help put him on a schedule at home as promised by the parents.

For those of you wondering why they have a Nanny at home, it is because they have a younger baby ( I don't take babies) and they want to socialize their son.


how do I talk to the parents about this without sounding like I don't know how to do my job. Do you think that I should give it more time? I am not too sure where to go with this right now. Any advice or thoughts on this would be fantastic.

Also, I am taking on three more kids all full time in about one month, so I need to have this figured out before then.

Is this the family where the Nanny doesn't like your program?

[daycare]

Originally Posted by Hunni Bee

Is this the family where the Nanny doesn't like your program?

bingo....currently the nanny does not have him on any schedule. still on a bottle and naps at 3:30pm...... so of course when he arrived at 745am today, he was not happy. he has been asleep since 11:00am and its 345 here now....

[daycare]

I wanted to add that this boy can not even seat himself in a chair. example, if all of the kids are sitting at the table and I say and point sit down, he will stand there and do nothing. same thing with everything else...

[youretooloud]

It sounds like more than a language barrier to me. I've had dozens of kids who don't speak English, and they catch on quickly. Plus, they are not "infant like" at that age. They function at their age level.

I wouldn't be able to tell if this is developmental, or parenting though.

BUT.... (and I am going to get flamed for this) Certain ethnicities do EVERYTHING for their sons. I don't know where this boy comes from, but depending on what country his parents were raised, they may be raising him the same way.

By kindergarten these boys have never fed themselves food, or cut with scissors or basically used their hands in any way. The girls are more self sufficient though.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by youretooloud

It sounds like more than a language barrier to me. I've had dozens of kids who don't speak English, and they catch on quickly. Plus, they are not "infant like" at that age. They function at their age level.

I wouldn't be able to tell if this is developmental, or parenting though.

BUT.... (and I am going to get flamed for this) Certain ethnicities do EVERYTHING for their sons. I don't know where this boy comes from, but depending on what country his parents were raised, they may be raising him the same way.

By kindergarten these boys have never fed themselves food, or cut with scissors or basically used their hands in any way. The girls are more self sufficient though.

lol what you are saying is dead on...no need to get flammed. Your are correct in what you are saying in regards to this culture. (which I don't plan to expose)

I have worked with this culture for many years and never ever had this issue. I did ask the mom how well the child spoke in their native language and she said average, so again this could be because of the parents or it could be something else.

thanks for your response.... I am still trying to figure out how I am going to talk to the parent about this.....lol

[Snapdragon]

Any chance the family might be able to teach you some basic words in the language they speak at home? Sometimes it can really help if you can greet the child in his/her own language or have labels for things in the child's native language. Sometimes it takes a little while for child who does not speak English to adapt -- it's not just a language issue, but can also be a cultural issue.

Does the nanny speak the child's native language and/or come from the same background? Could be that there are some cultural issues; in some cultures, self-help skills are not as important at a young age. The nanny might have different ideas of what is appropriate, which could cause some conflict.

Just a few things to think about.