Post by Joanna on Aug 20, 2015 15:40:49 GMT 9
I put an ad online for an English speaking babysitter, and had an enthusiastic response from a girl in high school. She is apparently good at English and excited about it (going on an exchange to USA...), and all of our correspondence has been in English (texting and email). However when she came to visit last night I was a bit stressed about the idea of leaving my baby and I blurted out in ML 'Should we speak English? We can speak French if you're more comfortable...' thus making the whole encounter happen entirely in French! A bit later during a diaper change I mentioned that perhaps she didn't feel comfortable with us there, but that it would be good to speak to Charlotte in English and read her a story in English...
I spoke to Charlotte in English while she was there of course, and the babysitter clearly understood, but didn't speak one word of English (except goodnight and goodbye at bedtime). Perhaps it was too awkward, just meeting us etc...also, my husband was there, and I find sometimes two French speakers hesitate to speak English in front of each other. Perhaps she thought his level would be better than hers...
She doesn't have a lot of baby experience, and really the main motivation to have her babysit was her supposed willingness to speak in English. I just feel frustrated with myself, if I had just went ahead in English, it might have been okay! I guess I wanted to put her at ease.
I'm considering emailing her to tell her how important English is for us, and asking her to come for longer...say 2 hours paid, with just me and baby present so she can practise caring for Charlotte and speak only in English. If she can't do that, I guess I'll just get an experienced ML caregiver...
I'm sure there are others who have had frustrations like this? It's a complex situation! (Or maybe I'm complicating it...but I just feel like I want a do-over.)