Why Teach Spanish to Preschoolers?

I must confess that when I was first asked to review a DVD aimed at teaching Spanish to preschoolers, I was a bit skeptical. After all, who would want such a thing other than some of those yuppie parents (the ones I've read about but haven't personally known) who are pushing their kids at an early age to excel so they can get into the best preschools and kindergartens?

That's an unfair stereotype. And, as it turns out, the DVD, one made by a California company known as Galloping Minds, is one I can recommend without hesitation. Watching the DVD made me think of good reasons why parents would want to introduce Spanish to their youngest children: Tops among them is that it's never too soon to teach children that we live in a diverse world, and that just because someone speaks a language other than English doesn't make that person inferior. In fact, helping children learn about other languages demonstrates to them that we can learn from people who are different than we are.

Second on the list is that instructional DVDs such as this one provide another way for parents to interact with their youngsters. If all you do with a DVD is put it in the player and plop your kid in front of the TV, you're missing the point (although TVs can come in handy when there are household chores to be done!). But if you use it as a catalyst for a fun and rewarding joint activity, you've taken a small step to developing a relationship that can last forever.

Whatever academic benefits there are from instructional DVDs for preschoolers come third on the list. Even that's not so much because of the facts that toddlers can learn, for if they need Spanish vocabulary later in life, they'll learn it then. But giving them the experience of learning new things, of showing them that words can be fun, will serve them well as they head into life.

Actually, all of the above is true to some extent of learning Spanish at any age. Learning the ins and outs of a second language can be important for career goals, or sometimes merely to get school credit. But if that's all that you get out of, you're missing out on much greater benefits.