Child Care Concern

We had a part time live in nanny Spanish speaking only with us a few months back. We loved her. She is now employed full time by my grandmother. I did not speak any Spanish and she did not speak any English. You would be amazed at how fast my husband and I learned to communicate with her, and she made an effort to learn English. The down side came to what she perceived was ok to let my son do. For Example she was ok making dinner for herself down stairs while my son played upstairs unattended, long enough to get into and destroy the sewing room, pull all the encyclopedias of the shelf and unplug his monitors. From my experience I would make sure you can communicate enough as to what level of care you want your child to have up front. You do have to remember that it is different culture and no fault to my cultures or her culture but things are done differently, does not mean one is better than the other it means you need to be able to communicate you needs upfront in fairness to her and you. I would not let the language with your child and her scare you. He will learn both from you and her and the kids.

As long as she can tell you basics, like your baby being sick, problems, etc. I wouldn't worry about it. And if she knows people that can help her translate to you--then I wouldn't worry. Hey--your child may become bilingual and that is a good thing!!If you feel right about her as a child care provider, stick with her. They are hard to find!! :) Good Luck!!

We had this situation when one of my daughters was 6 months old. We took her out of a place because she continued getting sick and a co-worker suggested her sil who was watching her son. Elizabeth was wonderful she kept my daughter clean and I don't doubt for a minute that she loved and adored her but the communication things was hard and problem for me.

If CC wasn't dropping her son off at the same time I wasn't able to communicate my needs for the day, explain medicine, food, etc. Picking up was difficult some times if there wasn't anyone to translate, I didn't know how my daughters day went.
Simple things if Alexie had a bruise, which I knew would happen as she began to crawl but I would have to wait a day until my co-worker could talk with her sil until I found out what happened.

If we wouldn't have moved to Texas I would have had to move her just because I am a mom who needs to know and obviously the baby wasn't going to tell me.

You have to go with what your gut tells you.

I wish you all the best and a blessed delivery.-Congratulations on your new little man.

T.

I wouldn't let that change your mind if you feel she is the right person to watch your child. Especially if she has english speaking grandkids.
How old is your baby? Do you feel this will affect her learning to speak proper english?
If so, then you may want to look around but honestly, it is SO hard finding a great person to watch our kids so I wouldn't change over a small concern like yours. I think your baby will do just fine and it might help him or her in the long run to learn how to speak a little spanish as well as english! : )
Take care.

Ithink that is great! Your little boy will be exposed to another language! If you feel comfy with the family, I say go for it.. Perhaps your little guy will be teaching you spanish in a few months! :)

I have my boy at a bilingual English/Spanish daycare. (Actually my boy is growing up tri-lingual. I speak German to him at home).
You will definitely need someone who can speak English to you when you drop off and pick up your child or when you call. If the grandkids will alwyas be there to translate, that might be fine for you. There are so many things that you need to know and due to the language barrier, you might not get the whole picture. There are some teachers who do not speak English too well at my daycare, and boy, am I glad that I ALWAYS have someone to turn to who is absolutely fluent.
Good luck!!!
Andrea

I have Spanish speaking childcare for the first 6 years of my son's life. The loving way that Mexican Americans treat babys is amazingly great! They will walk them, play with them, hold them (maybe a little too much), etc. I used a lot of demonstrating with my hands and bought a Spanish-English dictionary that I kept VERY handy. I asked that she put the baby on a blanket with a jungle gym over him in the sun of a window for 30 minutes each day, so that he could learn to be alone occasionally. I also prepared a chart with times, water bottle, formula bottle, no. of poops and no. of diapers used. So, that when I got home I could immediately tell what kind of day the baby had had. This worked very well! You will just need to figure out what you want or need to know that makes you feel comfortable and secure. Each woman is different. I wish you lots of love for years to come with your new child.

I would not be so concerned with language barrier as much as I would wonder about things such as emergencies(does she know cpr/first aid)..Can she communicate if your child becomes sick..Is her house safe by state standards?

Word to wise in daycare community. "You get what you pay for"

I see no problem with it.

I am in the same situation you are in. I have found a great person with excellent references and two of my co-workers' children go to her home. I speak a little Spanish and she speaks a little English. My son is nine weeks old and I have to return to work in a month. I took him over there for an hour today and I am going to take him one day each week for more and more time so that the adjustment is easier. I was SO nervous about how I would be able to communicate with her but felt good about him being in her care. I was worried for nothing. We were able to communicate just fine....it is almost as if taking care of babies is just a language all women speak. She was very loving to him and he was smiling at her so much. I know he will be in good hands. Follow your guy instincts! Good luck!

I will 100% echo this sentiment from Debbie:

"The loving way that Mexican Americans treat babys is amazingly great!"

I am the owner of www.nannyharmony.com. I started that business based on my own personal experience finding nannies for my darlyn princess.
At the time, i spoke ZERO spanish and one of my BEST nannies was a spanish lady who spoke ZERO english!!! It worked surprising well. I hated to loose her when she got sick and had to return to Mexico.

Mothering is a universal language. I would care less about the spoken language but more about the unspoken - a.k.a NURTURING SKILLs which I have to say Spanish nannies excel the BEST in! Trust me, I have tried all kinds of nannies, Central Americans are the most nurturing IMHO.

Call me if you need assistance.

Regards,
____@____.com
###-###-####

Hello T.,
don't let the language barrier stop you. You're can figure out a way to communicate with her. should there be a need for giving meds to your baby... take a picture of the medicine and print it with the time and how much the baby needs (along with the date) learn a few more words in spanish. She might not speak very well but she may be able to read and understand it just fine. the fact that she speaks spanish will help your baby. If babies don't hear certain sounds by the time they're 4 months, it's like impossible for them to pronounce it. That's one of reasons why asians have a hard time w/ R's.

save babelfish.com as one of your favorites on your web browser and you can run the translator for certain words. When I went back to work I had someone from Brazil watch my baby and I learned so much! I speak spanish and could guess a few words in portuguese. I learned so much. it was awsome.

my biggest recommendation is to follow your gut feeling and take your baby where you think he will be safe.

I speak on behaf of my mother who speaks a little english but not enough to hold a convesation. i know you say you speak some and that should be good enough. i mean when a parent is upset then the sitter will know. just get someone who knows to translate what your concerns are and what you expect from her and what you will not tolerate as well. things need to be clear from the beginning so no one is surprised by actions or things that are done later. language should not be a barrier but as long as you know enough to be able to trust her should be good for you. like trish has said in the long run the language will get easier with you and the sitter. sign language in the smallest form is very helpful.good luck

I would be worried about the language problem. How is she going to tell you about your baby's day or if there is a problem?