Things to Consider When Supporting A Non English Speaking Child In Childcare
The early childhood years play a significant role in a child’s learning and development, and clear communication between the parents and the child is integral to building a healthy and loving relationship with each other. However, in most English-speaking countries like Australia, families who move in from non English speaking countries face a lot of problems as their children adjust to the local community. This is especially difficult for a non English speaking child in childcare.
Bridging the Language Barriers
Regardless of age, every child needs special care and support, be he or she an infant, a toddler or a pre-schooler. Families with both parents working full-time or part-time may have no other choice than to enroll their kids in good childcare or kindergarten based on their child’s age. Of course, a childcare center is a great place for the kids to learn and socialize. The problem arises when the child comes from a non-English speaking background and there’s no one to understand their first language in the childcare.
Most childcare centers across major cities in Australia, like Melbourne and Sydney, have English as their primary language. And, the challenges faced by the childcare providers in communicating with the non-English speaking child affect the personal feelings of the parents as well. This is why, it is imperative to bridge the gap between the first and second language of the child with extra care and support from both sides, the parents and childcare providers.
Here are some of the important things every parent must consider when engaging a non English speaking child in childcare. Understanding them is crucial for a fun and loving start of your child’s early learning years.
Healthy Family Relationships
For a child, a fun and loving home environment is the start of a beautiful childhood and a beautiful life. Maintaining a healthy and happy relationship with your child is fantastic for your child’s growth. Don’t stress out over little things in front of your child, as your mood really affects your child’s behavior. Stay happy, stay calm, everything works out with some time.
Preserve Your Cultural Identity
Just because you’ve moved to a whole new country with an English-speaking background, doesn’t mean you have to forget the cultural identity and values that you brought from your home country. You don’t have to force your child to speak only in English. They’ll catch up in their childcare and school years with time. Although, we encourage you to add new words in English in day to day activities with your children. Suddenly not speaking your first language at home with your child is harsh and can disrupt your child’s cultural identity as well.
Introduce A Bilingual Learning Environment for Your Child
With a little more care and some efforts from your end, your child can become proficient in both the languages, your home country’s language and English. Be a little bit more creative, add more labels, visual and other learning materials in both languages for your kids at home to create a “Bilingual” learning environment for your child. Take help from bilingual support programs, access their resources and introduce your child to bilingual early learning centres for a wonderful start.
Engage with the Childcare Providers and Educators
Parents are encouraged to interact with the educators and childcare providers more and provide an overview of their background and culture. This could significantly help the educators and providers in bridging your child’s linguistic gaps by understanding where they come from and how to move ahead from there.
Get Bilingual Early Learning Childcare Support from Kimmba
With all the above-mentioned suggestions to help your child adapt to the new world easily and happily, you could always find more ways to engage your child in a fun based learning environment. Every child is special, and their early childhood years are important. At Kimmba, we understand how important it is to build a healthy and happy start for non English speaking child in childcare and provide the best bilingual learning childcare centre for kids in their early childhood years. Contact us now for enrolling your child in our bilingual childcare centre.