Being the son of a Latin teacher I always heard about how younger kids learn additional languages easily.  Given this fact and the huge advantages people who speak multiple languages have I don’t understand why more parents don’t take the initiative to give their kids toys that foster a love for language.  When I was growing up in a small town in VA, the only foreign language I had access to was Dad’s Latin lessons and the brief Spanish lessons on Sesame Street. 

With the Internet and the advances in modern toys teaching kids a second language should be a no brainier; but we as English speaking Americans have never seen a huge need for this.  As the world shrinks people will have to be better communicators.

I live in a neighborhood where there are at least five different languages spoken and my son stays with a family that speaks Hindi.  I never thought to really try to get him to start learning a second language like Spanish or French but the time may be coming where he’s old enough to start.  The advantages are huge, especially as they get into high school and have to take the required foreign language classes.

There are some bilingual toys on Amazon but I don’t know if any are worth getting.  More challenging will be getting my son to play with them.  I’ll let you guys know soon.