Sam Faiers divided parents during the latest episode of her show ‘The Mummy Diaries’ after her son had Spanish lessons at six months old.
The 25-year-old said she had hopes baby Paul would learn another language, as she lived in Spain and was fluent as a toddler.
During the ITVBe show, the new mum brought in a teacher who sang songs in Spanish, including ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ to Paul, while he giggled away.
Some parents felt this was too early for a baby to be taught another language.
“Spanish lessons for a six-month-old? Ridiculous,” one person tweeted.
And many others agreed.
But not everyone thought Spanish lessons for baby Paul were a bad idea.
Many commented on the fact that Paul laughed and giggled throughout the songs, and said it was a good idea to introduce him early.
Others felt there was “no harm” in introducing baby Paul to another language.
Bilinguasing, an organisation that runs bilingual singing classes for babies and toddlers, said there are countless benefits to babies learning at a young age.
“Decades of research suggest that introducing babies to a second language before they are six months helps to shape the brain at its most flexible stage,” they state on their website.
“As a child gets older, the brain’s ability to restructure itself diminishes, and by a very early age (between six and nine years old) the window has virtually closed.
“Babies and young children grow new brain cells to process the particular languages they are exposed to. While some parents worry that starting their toddler on a second language will interfere with developing English skills, the opposite is actually true. Children can differentiate between two languages within the first weeks of life.”
Sam Faiers’ ‘The Mummy Diaries’ is on ITVBe on Wednesdays at 9pm.
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