Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

bilingual toddler and grandparents

4 replies

tinseltwiddler · 18/12/2008 21:57

DD (3 in a couple of weeks) is Dutch/English bilingual. Her dad is Dutch, and spends a lot of time with her, taking responsibility for childcare one day a week. He speaks only Dutch with her, and reads books in Dutch etc. They also hang out with Dutch friends.
Her understanding of both languages is equal but as you can imagine she mostly speaks English. She does understand there are two languages at home, but because I understand Dutch well and we often have conversations where I speak English and he speaks Dutch, she's had no reason to figure it out until we started to tell her!
Her Dutch grandparents speak no English, and are visiting for a week over Christmas. This is the first time they have seen her for a while, certainly since her language has taken a huge spurt. We've explained to her that Oma and Opa speak Dutch, and that sometimes they may not understand her. This is sparking a bit of anxiety though, and now she says she doesn't want them to come!
Any stories to share about similar situations. I expect these early frustrations are common...

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
ummadam · 19/12/2008 14:21

I hope it goes well. We haven't been through this ourselves yet although DS's grandmother only speaks german to him so we will get there at some point! I just wanted to say that my friend's little girl is bilingual urdu/english and seems to work out very quickly which language to use. She mostly speaks urdu at home but from the first time she met me (at about 2) she spoke to me in English. She did try a few words of urdu but switched when I looked puzzled and now translates to me anything her mum says to her in urdu which both of us find funny. You may find that when they arrive it will work out better than you expected - at the moment she can't really imagine it and won't have much confidence in her dutch - she'll get there Good luck.

CrochetDivaMadeTheElvesNewHats · 19/12/2008 14:25

At this age, children don't have a concept of there being different languages - all dd knows is that daddy has some words for things, and mammy has different words.

When your ILs come, they will just talk like daddy, you could perhaps reassure her that she will be able to understand them, and you'll muddle through the rest of it together.

I'm saying this as both a language teacher and as the parent of a bilingual child (English / Welsh)

Good luck!

tinseltwiddler · 19/12/2008 17:57

Thanks, both reassuring replies. DH is much less worried about, perhaps because he knows his parents better than I do! I expect he'll be on hand to translate (as will I, albeit clumsily) and they'll have a lovely time!
Will report back on how it goes.

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

slng · 19/12/2008 19:27

Hope it goes well - DSs are both bilingual (Mandarin/English) and has never spoken the "wrong" language to anybody. Until recently we have not even mentioned to them that they are two different languages. I find that pretty amazing, but they seem to just know ...

New posts on this thread. Refresh page