'I done'... Aaaaaaaggggghhhhhh

[MrsSiba]

I have tried to teach my daughter to talk properly and have taught her correct grammar from the start. In particular saying I DID something rather than I DONE something. It is a personal bugbear when I hear people getting this wrong. However where we live in the north west it seems everyone says 'I done' or 'we done' . Yesterday as we were leaving nursery her lovely teacher said, 'Did you tell your Mummy what we done today?' I winced inwardly.

I know it won't bother some people and I probably sound like a right a snob but if the teachers speak like this the kids will too!

I would like advice on how and if to tackle it. I am happy with the nursery in other ways and my DD is happy and learning well. Should I mention it? What do I say? Should I just leave it alone but continue to correct at home?

Dd is 3yrs 9 months so this is pre-school.

What else should you compare it to? Ah yes, the "it's only wrong if you compare it with what's correct" argument
Not everyone only regards standard English as valid. What is considered to be correct is changing all the time.

No I will not raise this as I don't want to be the parent all the staff hate (coward) and as long as I correct at home I hope it eventually sinks in.

No plans to move to North London thank you 🙄

@bearsinthestudy exactly!

I'm in the NW but I don't live in an area where people speak the way the OP describes. Just 10 minutes down the road you'd be lucky not to hear people talking like that. If I were to send dd to a nursery 10 minutes down the road there is no way I'd complain about the way the staff talk unless they were swearing etc. If I were you and I cared that much then I would find a nursery where the staff speak how I want them to by moving to an area where they use a dialect I was happy with.

The staff won't know they're not using "correct" English so saying something won't help at all. It might upset/annoy some lovely staff who care for your child but it won't suddenly make them use the correct words.

I've been "correcting" my daughter since she could speak. "Yeah" is most definitely "yes", "me want it" I respond with "I would like it?" And await the "please"

My daughter has just turned two.

It's never too early to create good habits.

I'm also from the NW too.
I would just reply each time with
"What DID you do?" with the emphasis on did. I wouldn't worry too much they don't really do much on tenses until year 2/3 anyway and hopefully his teacher won't do it.

My eldest went to nursery in SE London, so 'innit' was a particular favourite that he also picked up on

This would annoy me too but given that childcare workers get paid a pittance you can hardly expect them to be highly educated with a good grasp of grammar.

For those who are bickering about dialect, using incorrect grammar is not part of a dialect. Dialect is to do with pronouncing words differently and sometimes using regional words but saying 'I done' is not correct in any dialect (even if it is widely used). The BBC have a policy of employing presenters a range of regional voices. I've never heard any of them use incorrect grammar.

At nursery I would let this go, but I am the person who complains when schools get things wrong on letters, homework etc. My daughter recently brought home a sheet on monarchs telling her to design 'a crown or thrown'........

In the NW too and it happens. One of the staff tells me the preschool manager pulls them up on lots of things like this along with 'horsey'.
As PP have said, nursery workers are working long hard days on MW caring for our children as their own whilst their children are at a different nursery or childminder.
I say this on every thread, I do the correcting grammar, literacy and numeracy at home. DD goes to play and socialise with peers, I'm grateful for what the staff do with DD so I don't like to share my views on early education standards.

What on earth is wrong with "horsey"? Next you'll be saying the nursery manager bans them from saying "kitty". It's a good way to emphasise the important word in the sentence - making it longer- and children learn from these type of diminutives which is why we have them in the language.

This would annoy me too but given that childcare workers get paid a pittance you can hardly expect them to be highly educated with a good grasp of grammar.

WTF?!!
How fucking insulting!

Keep on top of it at home and she'll more than likely grow out of it. DS went to a nursery where the Staff all spoke with a very strong Geordie accent and he came home with some phrases that made me wince as well as an accent but as soon as he started school it started to fade, and his grammar quickly improved. He's about to start secondary school and apart from his pride at being a Geordie (we moved from Newcastle a couple of years ago) you wouldn't know he'd ever lived there. His speech and grammar are excellent and he no longer calls me mam (which I never really liked - I'm not from the NE)

I meant to also say I would just inwardly sigh but not necessarily address it with nursery if that is your only complaint as it's unlikely to make any difference except for the fact that they may be offended. If they are doing a good job otherwise just concentrate on what you can do at home.

bonbonours exactly that, I'm so fed up with people trying to equate indirect grammar with dialect! Just because that's what everyone says doesn't make it right.

To the pp who said you can't expect nursery staff to speak properly - the two are not related. Basic literacy is free in this country as long as it's taught. Starting from early years.

... Taught CORRECTLY.

Wish there was an edit function!

This would annoy me too but given that childcare workers get paid a pittance you can hardly expect them to be highly educated with a good grasp of grammar.

This is a pre school TEACHER. Not a low paid childcare worker.

Sorry ignore me. I missed OP had confirmed it wasn't a teacher