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Meliskell
I have a baby and I want him to be exposed to, and learn both English and Spanish. My family speaks only English, although I speak spanish, and his fathers family speak Spanish. I've read conflicting articles where they say you should teach them one language first and others where they say you could teach a baby both at the same time. I've bought him some learning toys that teach him the alphabet and numbers, etc., and a couple of them are in Spanish. Will it confuse him if I let him play with toys that speak 2 different languages?
Answer
I have friends who are missionaries to Mexico. When they moved there, they had a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. They later had another daughter born in Mexico. The children are all teens now.
The boy speaks perfect English and speaks Spanish with an English accent.
The girl born in Mexico speaks perfect Spanish and speaks English with a Spanish accent.
The girl who moved there at age 2 speaks perfect English and perfect Spanish with no trace of an accent in either language.
I don't think your child will be confused. In fact, it's easier for a baby to learn 2 languages at once, because they don't know that most people only learn one.
I have friends who are missionaries to Mexico. When they moved there, they had a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. They later had another daughter born in Mexico. The children are all teens now.
The boy speaks perfect English and speaks Spanish with an English accent.
The girl born in Mexico speaks perfect Spanish and speaks English with a Spanish accent.
The girl who moved there at age 2 speaks perfect English and perfect Spanish with no trace of an accent in either language.
I don't think your child will be confused. In fact, it's easier for a baby to learn 2 languages at once, because they don't know that most people only learn one.
How many toys does your toddler have? Or how much of your house does your baby occupy?
Jenny
I'm wondering how many toys other people give their toddlers. You can estimate.
Each stuffed animal counts as one toy.
A fisher price barn with all the animals I would count as one.
Each hotwheels is one toy.
You can figure your own system. I'm wondering if we're nuts or if most people have this many toys. We have a pretty big house and we've turned the dining room into a play room for books, letters and numbers with some stuffed animals and cars. It's also where my piano is and we have a sofa where I play guitar. The entry area has his play village with his play houses and tunnels. The village spills over into my office but it makes a nice door and he doesn't go past that line.
The kitchen, living and breakfast area are relatively toy free. Maybe a toy or two that he's playing with and his rocking horse stays in the living room.
Upstairs, his room is another play room which is nice in winter as it is much colder downstairs. We have more books, letter and learning toys, oodles of stuffed animals, Fisher Price garage and Farm and a variety of other toys.
Just curious to see the toy situation in your home. My mom says she's never seen a child with more toys.
Answer
My 2 year old doesn't have a lot, but she has enough.
Our house is a little different. Our main living space (3 bedrooms, 2 bath, kitchen/living/dining) is only 900 square feet all together - high ceilings in our A-frame make it feel bigger, though. We've got a basement that adds another 900ish square feet, but we only really use that when it's warm. it's only heat is a wood stove. So we don't have a lot of room for lots of toys.
In the kitchen area, I've got a cooking stand with a shelf that has 2 tubs of art supplies/playdoh, which she shares with her 5 year old brother
In the living room, she's got a large dollhouse (we fixed up my old one, for her, for Christmas) and in a corner I have a medium sized bookcase (3 ft x 5 ft) of puzzles, games and toys, 2 kid recliners with a little end table that has a few books. there's also a basket of books by the couch (not that anyone usually notices) We also have a large rubbermaid of blocks. Not necessarily fancy, expensive blocks - some were melissa and doug, but the vast majority are old decking cut up that a neighbor brought over. They love those the most.
In her room, which is pretty small, she's got a laundry basket of stuffed animals and dolls. She has a small play kitchen and a little bin of play food/dishes. She's got a small bookshelf with her books and a few random toys. She's got a few dress up clothes in there as well. And that's about it for her. We don't have oodles of anything.
My 2 year old doesn't have a lot, but she has enough.
Our house is a little different. Our main living space (3 bedrooms, 2 bath, kitchen/living/dining) is only 900 square feet all together - high ceilings in our A-frame make it feel bigger, though. We've got a basement that adds another 900ish square feet, but we only really use that when it's warm. it's only heat is a wood stove. So we don't have a lot of room for lots of toys.
In the kitchen area, I've got a cooking stand with a shelf that has 2 tubs of art supplies/playdoh, which she shares with her 5 year old brother
In the living room, she's got a large dollhouse (we fixed up my old one, for her, for Christmas) and in a corner I have a medium sized bookcase (3 ft x 5 ft) of puzzles, games and toys, 2 kid recliners with a little end table that has a few books. there's also a basket of books by the couch (not that anyone usually notices) We also have a large rubbermaid of blocks. Not necessarily fancy, expensive blocks - some were melissa and doug, but the vast majority are old decking cut up that a neighbor brought over. They love those the most.
In her room, which is pretty small, she's got a laundry basket of stuffed animals and dolls. She has a small play kitchen and a little bin of play food/dishes. She's got a small bookshelf with her books and a few random toys. She's got a few dress up clothes in there as well. And that's about it for her. We don't have oodles of anything.
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