Ideal number of days at nursery - Bilingual - 2 years old

[Hopitihop]

Hi All,

I and DH don't originally come from the UK and at home we speak our home language.

This means that our DC is only exposed to English at nursery.

At the moment she goes 5 full days but we feel that this is too much for her... Her speech is behind and nowhere near where it should be.

Some say bilingualism is to blame, other disagree.

We are thinking of reducing the hours to have more 1:1 time with her but how many days at nursery would be enough for her to have adequate exposure to English?

Thank you!

Is her speech genuinely behind or is she only being measured in one language? If bi lingual they can take longer to begin to talk but usually catch up as they begin and then have proficiency in both languages. (Doubling their language ability) i would read up on latest research in bilingualism and make you mind up then.

Ds is 20 months

We have the opposite as we only speak English at home, yet live elsewhere

Ds won’t start nursery until 2.5 years ( in September). They said it’s normal here, and most children start around 3 years and are fluent within 1 year.

He will go 4/5 days per week, but just mornings 8.30-11am.

We are in the same situation but other way around, we speak English at home and the community language is German.

DS was meant to start at 2 but got off to a very rocky start (partly due to badly timed corona changes) we started him again in a new group at 2.5 and it was much better.

He does 5 days a week because it costs the same here however many days they do but I think 4 days would work well as well. He is 3.5 now and suddenly they say his German has taken off and he sings in German at home, drops random words into conversation etc. It was the same with our older son as well - took about a year for him to start speaking it confidently.

It's a bit of a myth that bilingualism causes speech delay (but speech should be assessed in the child's primary language, or across both to prevent an incorrect assessment) don't let yourselves be fobbed off for support that you're entitled to if your child is showing signs of speech delay.

Thank you all for the responses, it’s much appreciated!!

Our situation is a bit different because our DC started full time nursery in the UK full time at 11 months. So she had good exposure to both languages at the same time from a very young age when she had no words anyway.

At the moment she says a few words in both languages and understands commands in both languages but children who are close to 2 are not just saying a few words… they have many words, combine words, make small conversations and sing songs… hence the worry!

I think it would help if she gets assessed by a speech and language therapist.

@Enko her speech is behind in both languages…

She says words in both languages and understands well both. But she is not advanced as same age toddlers to combine words etc.

She was also late to babble, to point, to say her first word.

Although her receptive language is great, her expressive is not. And I feel bilingualism is an additional challenge…

Different situation but my DS is 2.5 and goes to a bilingual nursery (although we speak English at home). He is one of the slower speakers in his class and most of them are genuinely bilingual (or trilingual) so I don't think being in a bilingual environment is to blame particularly but rather he's just a slower developer when it comes to talking which is fine. Someone always has to be at the bottom end of average!

It's quite normal for bilingual children to be behind monolingual children in their language development. She will get there, give it time.

Have you met with your health visitor?
Has she been put down for speech therapy?

but children who are close to 2 are not just saying a few words… they have many words, combine words, make small conversations and sing songs…

Hopefully this helps ease your worries but trust me even those children who are only conversing in 1 language don't all have conversations, sing songs and combine lots of words at 2. The aim is I believe 50 words which includes words their familiar adults understand but a stranger wouldn't. How many words does she actually have and is she truly behind or just developing more slowly than some of her peers but still in the realms of normal.

I'd say at least 3 days if she's only being exposed to English at nursery as then it's a fair balance between time spent on both languages.

but children who are close to 2 are not just saying a few words… they have many words, combine words, make small conversations and sing songs…

Yea just wanted to add to this.
My son didn't talk until he was 3.

I remember watching Peppa Pig with DS1 and almost laughing at George only being able to say "dinosaur" on his second birthday - I could have full conversations with DS1 at that age.

Later with DS2 he could pretty much only say mummy by two. Maybe dada as well.

He's now three and you can't stop him talking (no matter how many ways you try!).

I imagine that any child learning two languages would take longer to chat away in either. But normal is a very wide range and I'd advise you not to worry yet.

I'd do five half days, if the full days are too much for her.

But you might have more success with a one-on-one carer, maybe a nanny/babysitter who will speak to her in English would be a good idea?

My ds said his first full sentence on his third birthday ( English at home, full days in the second language). Bilingualism was a factor and he turned out to be a complete perfectionist so that played a role too. Dd with the same set up, but much more relax d, was fully conversant in both languages by 2.
It so depends on the dc.

How old is she? DS is 21mo and we were told by the nursery he was 'delayed' a few months ago. I didn't agree and was not worried. He is being raised bilingual too. He is exposed to both languages in equal measure. At 21mo he says a few words in English and the other language. He recently randomly started saying a sentence too. His understanding of both languages and grasp of command is great, as you've also said, so I wouldn't be worried at this stage. So much changes just within a few weeks. I do think being bilingual makes it more complicated though. They have to learn two words for each thing so it makes sense.

Do you need the childcare?
If you dont need nursery to work, I'd pull her out completly, and focus on your home language.
When she hits preschool age, send her to a preschool attached to a school, and let her pick up English there.

DH didnt learn english (other than from the TV aparently !!?) until he went to school. You cant tell as an adult.

How far past 2 is she? If she's got somewhere approaching 50 words, split between the two languages, she's doing great. Bilingualism is a great thing to give her. Dont be put off by a slight delay in speech. FWIW, 11 years ago, the 2 year check was 10 words and DS didnt meet it. About 4 months later his language just exploded, and we haven't been able to shut him up since!

Oh and just to add, I am bilingual too (a different second language to DC that I don't expose him to yet so it's not too much!) but I didn't speak my second language at all until I started reception so I was 4 years old. DM only spoke to me in my first language at home. I'm now more fluent and at ease with my second language than the first. So I think if you're purely having childcare to expose her to a language then I wouldn't put so much pressure on it.

We did five half days to give exposure to both languages.

DS just turned 3 and we had exactly the same issue. He started nursery at 14 months, lockdown started when he was 15 months so he didn't really start properly until 18 months, 3 full days per week. At age 2 he had about 5 words in our home language and 2 in English. One month after his second birthday, his vocabulary increased 10 fold!! It's only now that he has started speaking really well in both languages. I do feel that it has something to do with bilingualism but am glad we persevered. 3 full days (8am-6pm) feels like the right balance for us.

Thank you all for your kind words and support!

Good to know that I am not alone and the only one…

DC is 22 months, turning 2 in two months.

She is also cutting the words. So she says “ca” for carrot and car. “Ba” for ball, bunny and bus.

She has about 20 words that are either one syllable words or she only uses the first syllable of the word. Or they are two syllable words but with the same repetition like “mama”, “baba” for mummy and daddy.

Do you think that this again is normal at this age or a reason to get in touch with a speech therapist?

It also doesn’t help me that I am in group with other mums that all had our babies at the same time and their little ones small in sentences and sing “happy birthday” etc. … it’s so hard not to compare… and I know it’s wrong. :-(

Do you think that this again is normal at this age

Totally normal and not at delayed.

My DS has only one language to contend with he is 25 months old and can say things like happy birthday but he certainly can't sing the whole song. Additionally whilst he now does try and have a conversation with me most of it is still nonsense and not intelligible.

I honestly wouldn't worry at all she sounds perfectly on track. I appreciate that's easier said than done when everyone else seems to have children talking in full sentences but she is absolutely not behind.

Ds is 21 months. He says ‘ba’ for bath, ‘fee’ for feet, and one syllable words like bowl, bar, cheese. Most of those he could say even 2 weeks ago. Nothing in second language yet
It’s normal, she’s not even 2 yet. By 2.5 I’m sure huge leaps

Her speech sounds absolutely normal. IME it is rare for them to be speaking very clearly at 2 (and she is not even quite 2 yet). Two and a half is the age at which I've noticed my children and children around me really exploding into a more expansive vocabulary and constantly putting words together.

I agree - she sounds entirely normal. My DS is similar still and he's considered within the normal range. I think it's just one of those things - my DS loves numbers and letters (can recite the alphabet, spell out words etc) and has an exceptionally good memory but can't talk in sentences yet. His brain has clearly just focused on other things. I bet your child equally has things they're amazing at doing!