Could my toddler possibly be learning other languages from youtube?

My 2yo son often comes up to me saying words I cant understand. At first, I thought it was just baby babble, but I have noticed he is using the same words in the same context. I just don’t know what exactly he is saying. He watches YouTube videos (yes, I let my child have a tablet, don’t judge), and I let him choose what he wants to watch. I go through his videos often to make sure nothing inappropriate is slipping through, and I have noticed he watches a LOT of videos in Japanese and Arabic. We have assumed he has a bit of a speech delay, but what are the chances he’s just speaking another language? He uses some English words and phrases, but there are several I am just unsure about.

38 Likes

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my toddler possibly be learning other languages from youtube? - Mamas Uncut

Yes my daughter understands Russian and Spanish

2 Likes

My little brother had a speech delay as well and we later discovered he is on the spectrum. He would have his own words and names for people that he made that he could say before he could learn the actual words. And I don’t mean like the same word with a baby accent i mean completely different. Just a possibility.

1 Like

Yes, this is how my daughter learned her colors and numbers in Korean. Totally by accident too.

2 Likes

Yes so true… My son knows Korean thanks to pinkfong

3 Likes

Yes, definitely. Japanese for my kids :sweat_smile: My sisters learned Spanish without a tablet at all, she just kept switching her toys to Spanish lol.

4 Likes

Good old dora and Spanish :rofl:

2 Likes

Very possible my daughter understands and speaks Somalian because of her babysitter lol

1 Like

Very possible!!! Young children pick up languages so easily!! Thats why they suggest teaching children languages early in because of this!! He may just be super smart mama!

1 Like

Yes. my son has picked up on spanish works from watching videos & cartoons.

Yes my younger sister could say some stuff in Spanish and in Chinese between kids in her kindergarten class and watching Dora lol

They learn speech from hearing it. He’s in his language peak. So yeah if he’s watching shows in those languages he’ll learn to speak it. I suggest having him watch videos in languages that are spoken in your area. For example if you have a large Spanish speaking population have him watch shows in Spanish. He can easily become bilingual!

Renita Simmons it’s a thing! Lol my boo is speaking Korean and English

Yes! And no judgement from mama bc SAME! And my daughter will rattle off to me all the time. It might change tho, when he starts noticing it’s a different language that he’s watching and what other people around him say! Mine did!

Definitely could be! I know my son would also make up words for things though. He would say the same word everytime but its just one he made up. Dinosaur was atin the name Chelsea was tita. He had a whole bunch of them. It took time and lots of show me to figure it out lol.

My 7 year old has learned ASL(with help with me) Spanish and Japanese

Yes! Most likely. My son last year was saying RAFF after everything. Weird!! Like for example “can i have milk raff” “i love you raff” we finally figured out that it was Paw Patrol when they say Ruff lol

7 Likes

When my daughter was in daycare at age 3, the teacher in her room was from Dominican Republic and many of her classmates were Puerto Rican so she would speak a lot of Spanish in the room. My daughter was pretty fluent in simple Spanish sentences at age 3, she could out-Spanish Dora the Explorer that year.

Of course once she was pulled from that daycare and wasn’t exposed daily, she remembers very little of it. But it was funny when she would speak to me in Spanish

3 Likes

Absolutely they could. My son use to do the same thing. Pretty awesome IMO.

Yes, my daughter tried to speak other languages at that age before English I blocked everything I could that was in a different for that reason

2 Likes

Yea… you need to monitor YouTube very carefully! Even YT kids. My daughter loved Masha and the Bear and ended up trying to speak Russian. It was about age 2-3. They’re little sponges!

Definitely. My daughter is 2 and does the. Same. Nothing wrong if he ends up being bilingual :blush:

2 Likes

Most definitely, my boy is 2 and has come home from daycare with new words, they teach a few songs and sayings there, he also learnt from Dora, I love it, he came home the other day singing in Maori, a song I actually knew, was so cool to see! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

1 Like

Yes. Encourage it. You might end up hearing something you don’t recognize from time to time but he will figure it out and he will learn those languages easier when he’s older. One of the critical parts of language development is hearing the sounds of your language at a young age, it helps you learn how to make and listen to those sounds.

2 Likes

My oldest that will be 11 learned spanish from Dora when she was 2-3 years old.

Yep ! My daughter is 5 & knows English, Japanese & learned Spanish from YouTube ! We kinda do a mash of all 3 daily. My son is 3 & hasn’t said much few words in Japanese but not in English when he’s taught the same. Kids are like sponges! They soak up everything that is taught to them early on ! Encourage learning different languages even maybe you’d pick up on it some :blush:

1 Like

At that age kids have their own language so it could be “babble” but they also learn quickly and copy what they hear. My 3 year old copies what videos say no matter what language it’s in (kids learning videos)

It is definitely a possibility and I would honestly continue to encourage it, it’s easier for children to learn multiple languages and it could be very beneficial to him.

When our 9 year olds were 2 they made up their own words for things, they referred to blankets as “Kiki” and candy was “Nene”. Currently our youngest who is 2 refers to both My husband and I as “Mark” (hubby’s name) even though he does know how to say Mommy and Daddy, his 3 older siblings are all “Ry-Ry” (Oldest son’s nickname)

2 Likes

My kids have kids YouTube and do this too. Totally possible!

My daughter is the same and she is two, she watches Indian cocomelon and Russian, I’m actually amazed she gets upset when I change it, she has a tablet too lol. And this is on YT Kids, My partner doesn’t like it for her but I don’t mind it to be honest, I just want to clarify I don’t allow her to speak other than English or Maori because that’s the only languages she knows.

When my boy was 3 he was speaking some Spanish words from the things he was watching on YT. I look at it as he’s learning another language. Isn’t hurting him, so shouldn’t be a problem.

1 Like

I’m from Ireland and a lot of children there talk in British and American accents because of what they watch on YouTube and TV… The world is becoming a very small place and I think it’ll be normal soon for children to speak a whole range of languages… I wouldn’t discourage it at all I think it’s amazing but if you feel he’s struggling with his English maybe you could talk to your doctor about the situation and get some advice

1 Like

Yes it’s very possible.
Encourage it. Don’t stop them. It’s so valuable to be able to be able to speak another language so encourage it now whilst they’re still young

The funniest ones is when they start having an american accent :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

2 Likes

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my toddler possibly be learning other languages from youtube? - Mamas Uncut

My daughter was obsessed with Korean cartoons and k pop when she was little and she learned a lot of Korean words from it :blush:

With my ADHD this how I learned languages better in school :relaxed: This is definitely something you want to encourage!

Definitely possible. But since you stressed it: how do you know if it’s appropriate when you don’t even speak the language of videos they’re watching? Just sayin…

14 Likes

It’s 100% possible! My daughter watches YouTube too, and I monitor it, and often see videos speaking Spanish.

1 Like

The younger a person is and the more a 2nd+ language is used the easier they can be fluent in other languages. Keep watering this!

2 Likes

My 4yr old can sing the Mickey Mouse hot dog song in
English
Spanish
Korean and another language were not sure of :joy_cat::woman_shrugging:t2:

I’m so happy I’m not alone on this hahahah

Yes maam! Not only does my 5 yr old speak and sing different languages…he can sign language the alphabet and as well as communicate to others that know sign language! I was in complete shock when he told me the guy at subway wanted cheese and pickles on his sandwich when the man was signing to his wife to tell a worker!!!

I speak portuguese and let my son watch videos in portuguese. But my husband speaks English with him. He blabbes a lot and the pediatrician actually said that because he is exposed to more than one language, he will be delayed in speaking.

1 Like

Absolutely. Before she 4 is the easiest time for kids to learn multiple languages

My daughter speaks her own language but we can get her to count higher in Spanish than in English and she’s never been around anyone who actually speaks Spanish so we’re blaming the t.v/youtube… :woman_shrugging:t2: I just wish I knew what she was saying more often :rofl: I took two years of Spanish classes and I can count to 10 and say cat and I actually tried. :woman_facepalming:t2: I guess my brain just doesn’t compute other languages. :roll_eyes::sweat_smile:

1 Like

Same thing happened with my grandson, who’s 3 years old.
He has been picking up Japanese, and I think it’s a good thing.
I often sit and watch with him so I know what he’s looking at on YouTube.

1 Like

Man I thought this was only my child :joy: half the time I’m just like wtf did you just say ? English please :joy: like dam idk those languages but if ever in trouble at least maybe she will know what they saying :woman_shrugging::rofl:

Most definately…the little mind is like a sponge…

1 Like

My 3 year old was singing songs and saying words in Spanish at 2 because of youtube. People kept asking if he was speaking Spanish when he was talking. He would switch back and forth between Spanish and English.

SAME😂oh my god, my 2 year old watches YouTube kids in different languages half the time and he has a speech delay.

Sure could be…my grandaughter watching Japanese cartoons lmao

2 Likes

He could be! My son also watches stuff on YouTube in other languages. He was also speech delayed. He’s almost 3 now and talks in full sentences. But he can say a few things in Spanish and Turkish :joy:

5 Likes

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my toddler possibly be learning other languages from youtube? - Mamas Uncut

Yes he can learn it from Chinese videos are very popular kid youtube channels so it’s most likely

Same thing happened with my daughter, i would go through and clear out all the non English ones regularly and eventually they stopped popping up as often.

Yes children are parrots they learn from every thing, general conversation, talking on TV, YouTube. My children loved Dora they use a lot of Spanish phrases.

Yes, he could be learning another language. Its actually easier to learn a second language at a younger age and their brain develops so much in the first 4 years. I would not be surprised at all if he has picked up on things he is watching, especially if he watches repetitively.

2 Likes

Definitely :blush: bounce patrol does a counting video in 4 languages and my little one can say them all haha. He taught me :joy::joy:

Lol my kids did the same thing. Yes he probably is saying words in other languages. My oldest also started speaking Spanish because of daycare, I suddenly stopped understanding things he was saying then realized it was Spanish haha it was really cute

My daughter is also 2 years old and watches YouTube a lot as well so I completely understand where your coming from because my daughter will walk up to me and start talking and I swear it’s another language because I can’t understand anything she says

It’s very possible…for a long while our daughter used to say “boo-boo shabba” and we had no bloody clue what she was trying to say :rofl: it was only a year or so later we realised she was watching something in French and she was trying to say “bonjour ca va?!” :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

3 Likes

I find it mostly concerning you don’t monitor the videos till after the fact…

28 Likes

Can be, my son has picked up an extremely strong American accent and will often correct me if I use English terms. Confusing child, half English half Scottish, live in Scotland with an American accent :woman_facepalming::laughing:

He also watches alot of the Japanese ones and until now I don’t think he’s picked up any sayings but I’m interested to ask him :slight_smile:

1 Like

Yes. I work with autistic kids and many of them learn to repeat sounds and phrases they often hear. It’s very likely he’s repeatedly and saying phrases from the video, even if they Donny understand the meaning

Most definitely your baby could be learning other languages. My daughter is seven and she has picked up Spanish from watching utube

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my toddler possibly be learning other languages from youtube? - Mamas Uncut

Definitely could be. Toddlers are sponges. Mine watches a show that teaches English and mandarin. Just means there will be a delay in sentences. Kids who learn more than one language struggle with sentence composition

Very possible they are learning another language. It’s a good age to learn multiple languages.

4 Likes

Yes! My middle child learned Spanish by watching Dora and Diego when they were toddler age.

1 Like

Honestly I decided my son was mimicking some of the videos of kids playing in other languages so I changed the settings to English until we’ve worked on communicating in the language I know then I was going to slowly reintroduce some of the other language videos that I have reviewed and understand

1 Like

Yes 100% my sons did the same thing, Spanish, Japanese and Russian… I sometimes had to look up what they were saying to me :rofl:

5 Likes

Very possible. When my nephew was around that age he was obsessed with Japanese soap operas. He would often repeat what he heard.

1 Like

Its possible and if you seek to have him evaluated for speech therapy make sure to bring that up with them

Yes! I had custody of my sons little brother for a little bit and he taught himself to sing baby shark in Chinese :rofl: at 2 years old. Lol

Yes definitely possible, my 3 year old loves watching Spanish videos on kids YouTube and she started coming out with random Spanish words/phrases :joy:

Didnt this get posted yesterday too??

Sounds like he spends hella time on the tablet

3 Likes

Definitely possible, but baby Babel to us sounds like gibberish but they constantly are copying sounds so when u hear the same Babel over and over it’s literally them learning to say a word

1 Like

My older kids loved Dora , we spoke fluent Spanish for a number of years :joy::joy:

My grandson used to watch the Russian version of Masha Bear and he used to speak to us in the language,we were stumped

Yes, my daughter learned sign language, when she gets mad she uses it and I have no idea what she is saying :rofl::joy::rofl::joy::rofl::joy:

1 Like

Yep, possible. They are sponges till about age 5. Its good especially in this day and age to know more than one language. And it gives them a boost in the job field when they’re older.

My 4 yo learned math from YouTube and he knows a little bit from a few languages from YouTube and because I turn his shows to different languages.

My 3 year old says trousers because peppa pig says it. “Mom they aren’t pants they are trousers”!

It’s definitely possible. They’ll soak up and repeat just about everything.

I put my two year old in daycare and he is speaking so well now!! Of course he still says words we have no idea about but he knows!! Lol

Definitely possible, my son watches YouTube videos too and he 100% has picked up some Japanese words lol

1 Like

My grandson 4 year old grandson told me I was being “cheeky” :joy: He got that from “ peppa pig!”:joy:

2 Likes

My kids watch videos in different languages too and have picked up some of the words. Its a definite possibility

Octanauts caused my little one to speak in different accents and say sayings from other countries

2 Likes

Yes!! Please please encourage this. Young minds have the ability to learn so much faster than adults and language especially sinks in for them the very young age. I started teaching my son German when he was in first grade and by the end of the year we could have full conversations. Find the language they like and go for it. If you’re an English native speaker then try languages like German Latin Italian French and those will be easier 2 compared instead of things like Arabic or Asian languages

Yes!
My son, 2 years old, learned some sign language through various tv programs.

Mine was picking up Spanish from videos a little bit. Shes duo lingo as well english/Russian. It’s so good for em! Let that lil sponge soak all of that in. :smiley:

My son made up his own words for certain things… we just learned what they referred to. By the time he was 3 he changed his fake words to the real ones

My child speak American, the words they use and the accent he’s 3 haha. Learnt it all from YouTube :joy::joy:

My son learned a ton of Spanish at 3 years old. We both watched a lot of Dora and Diego. They were both such good and educational shows that even I would watch them. But one day he was counting ammo with his dad and started counting in Spanish and my husband yelled for me to come watch. We had to google counting in Spanish to see what number he got to because we only knew to 6. Turned out he had counted to 10. It was amazing. He ended up learning several words an phrases. He knew a lot of animal names and colors. He was teaching me Spanish at age 3-4. lol. Try to record him next time he speaks “funny” and then use google translate. You will be surprised at what they absorb. Like one person on here said let that little sponge soak it all in.

a kid can speak fluently max3 languages. if taught. apparantly he is picking that up. but if you don’t want your kid to be confused only let him watch his first language so he learns that first. try to monitor how much he is on his ipad. i won’t judge but you don’t want a kid that is obsessed with it. play and books are more important.

Yes! My toddler did this and was taking to a gas station attendant!

My 2 yr old does the same thing I let her who knows if she is learning another language but if she is that’s good why stop that’s an amazing talent to have