Nothing on Mandarin here, but I know many parents have asked about hiring Mandarin-speaking nannies and babysitters so that their kids are bilingual. It certainly works – the Russian aristocracy always hired French-speaking nannies so that their children grew up speaking French perfectly.
==
The New York Times
By JENNY ANDERSON
Published: August 18, 2010
When Maureen Mazumder enrolled her daughter, Sabrina, in a Spanish singalong class a year ago, she hoped it would be the first step in helping her learn a second language. But the class did not seem to do the trick, so Ms. Mazumder decided to hire a baby sitter, one who would not only care for her daughter but also speak to her exclusively in Spanish.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Elas Tarazona was hired to speak in Spanish with Nir Liberboim’s son WIlliam.
“It was a must that she speak Spanish,” said Ms. Mazumder, who said neither she nor her husband was fluent in the language. “We feel so strongly that our daughter hear another language.”
Ms. Mazumder, whose daughter is nearly 3, has company. Although a majority of parents seeking caretakers for their children still seek ones who will speak to their children in English, popular parenting blogs and Web sites indicate that a noticeable number of New York City parents are looking for baby sitters and nannies to help their children learn a second language, one they may not speak themselves.
Read more here.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
Leave a comment