Sending a very attached child , from non english speaking background to daycare ?

[enigma]

Thanks
i made it sound like she speaks sentences in polish hehe she has just started to put 2 and 3 words together .. bu she understands most things we say to her... i feel kind of sad thinking she will be isolated when suddenly strangers are speaking to her in a language she doesnt understand
but then i tell myself better sooner than later.... *sigh* i dont know

[tears_of_joy]

Hi

I worked in a daycare before i left to have my bub and we had a few non english speaking children come who also had only been with there parents.

One little girl was vietnamese and she didn't speak any english, it was difficult to begin with as her parents only spoke minimal amount of english. I asked her parents, as best i could and we wrote the basic words ie; hungry/food, thirsty/drink, toilet/nappy, hurt, play, tired, help and a few others that she knew in vietnamese and we learnt them so for the first few weeks we could make sure she got what she needed and was happy, once we were able to understand and she was comfortable with us, we started to help her learn some english (as per parents request) She now speaks both, english at school and other places where needed and still speaks vietnamese with the family. She was very shy and it took 2 months before she really came out of her shell, but she is a beautiful little girl and is now coping wonderfully with school and both languages, now at the childcare we encourage children to be respective of other cultures and have days where we focus on other countries, introduce them to languages, foods and tradition, schooling etc without confusing them too much. Sorry i rambled a bit But maybe if you just ask if you can write a few of the main words down so they know it and then aneta may feel a little more comfortable with them, and not so alone IYKWIM. I hope all goes well. Goodluck

[Mez80]

I have had a lot of experience working with children from non english speaking backgrounds. Quiet often the grandparents would drop the children off and it would be very hard to try and explain to them that their grand child will be better off if they left. (we would then see them lingering around the back fence) It can be a little more challenging for children who cannot speak english when they are left at daycare where most children and all the staff are speaking english. I highly recommend that which ever day care you choose that you go on numerous visits to the centre prior to Aneta starting. This way Aneta will become familiar with the staff and the environment. She will see you speaking to the staff and if you are lucky enough a staff member may speak polish too. As a carer it is our responsibility to ensure the childrens needs are met so you dont have to worry if she cant ask for things like food, drink e.t.c. If she is unhappy im sure they will do whatever they can to find out what it is. I would often pick up many objects or point to many children to find out what is wrong. You will be amazed at how quickly she will pick up english and if you speak Polish at home she will know how to speak both. Sometimes the children who speak another language one day suddenlystart speaking english and we are amazed at how well they can speak. It may take her a while to settle but if you and your husband are confident about the decision you both made then she will see this and come to realise you are dropping her off at a place where she is welcome, a place with a lot of toys and equipment, children to play with, caring adults, somewhere where she wont be hungry or thirsty and that at the end of the day you and your husband will be there to take her home where she will continue to be loved. Have you thought about family Day care? It is where the children are cared for in someone's home and there is a maximum of 7 children (2 under the age of 2, 3 aged between 3-5 and 2 over 5) This may be less daunting as there are less children and one carer. Goodluck