As parents we want to give our children every competitive advantage we can, from the very moment they are born until they are out on their own two feet. Bilingualism is one of those competitive advantages we can offer our children, and having an au pair is a great way to expose them to a foreign language via language immersion.
We've spoken before about the ability of children to learn a foreign language, but a recent article from The Huffington Post entitled Speaking Two Languages May Slow Brain Aging shows that the benefits of language learning lasts a lifetime. People that are bilingual tend to display a higher level of cognitive abilities (especially in general intelligence and reading) compared to singular language speakers. Teens who speak more than one language tend to do better at multitasking and focusing, and adults who are bilingual tend to see the onset of dementia later in life when compared to monolingual patients.
Check out language immersion in action below as one of AuPairCare's very own au pairs Grazie sings in Portuguese with host child Katie!