Child Care Centre or Home Daycare for Russian-speaking 3-year old boy?

Hello,

my family has arrived to Canada recently and now we are trying to find a day care for our 3-year old Russian-speaking son.
Ofcourse subsidized Child Care Centre is the most preferred to us but there is a very long waiting list ... however, my son is very lack of communication with peers and as an alternative we are considering a Home daycare. But I have little doubt if this is really a good solution, because in the Home daycare there are children of different ages and lack of understanding the English language by my child can cause confusion and some problems ...
May be I'm wrong but in anyway I need a piece of advice...
Is Home daycare suitable for not speaking English child? Can anyone share the experience of care for foreign children: what to expect, what to beware, to be ready for what?
Thanks

In a home daycare your child would be with other children although younger that are just learning to speak too. For this reason the caregiver is used to responding to gestures, sounds, etc. The group size is smaller and she will be able to work with your child to teach him the basic words that he would use in the daycare so he will learn things like shoes, coat, book, quickly as well as phrases such as put your shoes on or come to the table.

Another good option would be to list your home daycare needs on something like kijiji - go to www.kijiji.ca and select your city from the list of options. Look under services and find childcare. then you can ask in your ad for a caregiver that speaks or understands Russian. That would be the most ideal for your son.

Good morning Svetlana, :) Have you considered a private caregiver for your son ? There are many agencies that you can hire a nanny through, and one of the things that you could look for would be someone who speaks Russian. If you are planning on having a second child you may even find that the cost of a private nanny is comparable to what you would pay to have two children in care. A friend of mine chose a nanny for precisely this reason ! LOL If this is not possible, my recomendation would actually be for non-centre care. A private caregiver will only have a maximum of 5 children. If your son has a bit of a language barrier, it might be easier for him to cope in a low ratio environment where the caregiver can devote a bit more time to him in a one on one capacity. Centre care has many wonderful qualities, but it might be a bit intimidating for your son to be in a loud, busy environment when he doesn't speak the language at all. Meet with some caregivers who offer low ratio childcare and see what you think. Good luck !

I agree with the ladies. I have always preferred home daycare for my own girls back then since it is actually more private, sometimes even less expensive then centers. But the lesser the children, the more attention we can give them. I speak french and english, often repeat in both languages. My english daycare kids end up understanding french very easily and my french daycare kids understand english. Children are very quick to pick up !

Welcome to our wonderful Canada and good luck :D

Welcome to Canada! I run a French daycare, but many children come to me speaking only English. They learn, and quickly. It will take some time to adjust, but find a provider who is open to this and willing to put in the extra effort it would take to teach your son English. In the meantime I would suggest practicing a little bit at home some basic word like " thirsty" , " water" , "sleep" etc. good luck!

You can get a subsidized space in a home daycare (if you qualify for it) if you find a home daycare run through an agency. I know some have suggested a nanny, but personally, I would not suggest that because your son will need to learn as much English as possible to be ready for school and will learn faster if he has other children to play with. Kids learn really fast at this age and he will pick it up in no time at all. A small group such as a home daycare can be ideal because the caregiver will have more time to help him one-on-one. If you do find a Russian speaking caregiver, make sure she also speaks English and is going to speak English to him and only use the Russian when necessary. I was an ESL teacher before starting my daycare and I have seen that immersion is the fastest way to learn a language. The more a person reverts to their native language, the more slowly they learn English. Kids learn from other kids more than anything as they will want to play and be forced to try to speak in English. On the other hand, problems can arise in the beginning if the caregiver cannot communicate with your son...he will not understand what she wants him to do and discipline can be a bit more difficult. Good luck and welcome to Canada!

I appreciate your attention to my problem. Thank you for your very useful advice. Your informed opinions helped me a lot and now I'm more confident in what is necessary to search for my son.
Thanks again:flower:

Hi all,

Hope you are fine!

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