Aubright:If ever a child I spawn, I won't be teaching them Esperanto. The child will be her/his own person and certainly should decide for themselves what they wish to learn. No use foisting it upon them, so to speak.

I never understand this perspective. If people really follow this route of logic, then we should let them choose if they want to learn how to spell, do maths, learn history etc... etc.. They are a child and if you have no other languages to teach them, then why not teach Esperanto? At least they'll get a better concept of languages. I for one will teach Esperanto way before English, because they will be immersed in English from the get go. That's if everything goes according to plan. My wife will be teaching Chinese, and with my studies of Chinese I plan to make this the home language.

Evildela:They are a child and if you have no other languages to teach them, then why not teach Esperanto? At least they'll get a better concept of languages.

Agree completely. Esperanto is a wonderful introduction to "foreign" languages because it's very easy to learn and (dare I say it) fun. For this reason alone I would introduce Esperanto in elementary school -- not because it's particularly practical, but because it's a very non-intimidating way to introduce monolingual children to foreign language.

Amike,

Paul

Sometimes I thought about teaching my son Esperanto. He is nearly 6 and speaks already 3 languages (French and German parents in UK). But he is not really interested in EO, so I am not going to push him. I think it is because of the missing context. There is no other person he can listen to naturally speaking EO. Otherwise he could learn it or even more languages.

Evildela teaching a child to read, write, do math, etc is essential to their development; Esperanto is not. Allow me to explain my position here.
Say you love to play the guitar. Should your child learn to play the guitar simply because you enjoyed it when you were learning it? Who is to say whether they want that particular skill? Only you. And say you love God devoutly. Should your child, without full knowledge of the alternatives, learn to love your god? Now I am all for introducing children to certain things, but the choice to continue on and learn more must be their own, else all you end up with is your very own little project learning only that which you deem worthy / useful.

Aubright:Evildela teaching a child to read, write, do math, etc is essential to their development; Esperanto is not. Allow me to explain my position here.
Say you love to play the guitar. Should your child learn to play the guitar simply because you enjoyed it when you were learning it? Who is to say whether they want that particular skill? Only you. And say you love God devoutly. Should your child, without full knowledge of the alternatives, learn to love your god? Now I am all for introducing children to certain things, but the choice to continue on and learn more must be their own, else all you end up with is your very own little project learning only that which YOU deem worthy / useful.

It could be argued that doing math or being literate is not essential to development, just as it could be argued that foreign language acquisition is so beneficial to development that it may as well be essential. I agree with alonsososo. Unless my future child has the opportunity for regular interactions with other Eo speakers, and not forced relations, then it's probably not worth teaching until much later in life.

Aubright:Evildela teaching a child to read, write, do math, etc is essential to their development; Esperanto is not. Allow me to explain my position here.
Say you love to play the guitar. Should your child learn to play the guitar simply because you enjoyed it when you were learning it? Who is to say whether they want that particular skill? Only you. And say you love God devoutly. Should your child, without full knowledge of the alternatives, learn to love your god?

I think a dad teaching his kid how to play guitar is an excellent idea, a gift that will be used and enjoyed throughout life. It's best to start on teaching music early. Your thing about 'god' and so on is too ideological-sounding; 'freedom of the individual' and all that stuff. I've taught little kids a lot in my life, and in real life they are eager to learn pretty much anything, and having a passionate teacher helps a lot. Infano estas kvazaŭ spongo por informaĵo.

However, guitar players are cool. Esperantists are, um... how can I say this? Not cool. Kids are aware of peer pressure and being an Esperantist might be a burden once the kid gets to adolescence. But for little kids, it should be no problem. Might even be more fun than they think, kind of like pig latin.

A language though is nothing but an ability, it doesn't necessarily bring ideals with itself, even if Esperanto is full of them, therefor I would not compare it with religious beliefs. Teaching it to a kid would just be fun and totally effortless contrary to teaching the guitar, and it could be a fun way to talk secretly in front of others. I would do that.

efilzeo:... Esperanto ... Teaching it to a kid would just be fun and totally effortless contrary to teaching the guitar, ...

As I said, I talk to our exclusively in Esperanto, and unless you already master it very very very well it IS a huge effort to do so, if you want to use the proper words for all the things in the world and not just eh, tiu, hm, aĵo or some makeshift circumlocutions.

Here are some words I needed in the past few days and which are not the things you usually discuss about during UK or in Libera Folio: kluĉilo, okzalo, ŝenoprazo, spatelo, remorko, benjeto, intermita avertlumilo, tenajlo, slojdi, sultra.

I don't regret the way I chose and I don't want to dissuade anyone from doing so, but be aware that it is not a piece of cake and have a look at the literature on multilingual education (including the cases of native Esperanto).

Famously, the younger a child is exposed to a language, any language, the easier it is for him/her. I never had any foreign (in my case, non-English) language instruction even available until I was thirteen (French, for me). Definitely I wish I had had exposure (to any other language) before that age. If you are adept at any language, Esperanto or any other, beyond the current environment I heartily suggest exposing your child(ren) to it. Whether they become fluent and retain it is not necessarily the goal. Exposure to a mind-expanding skill at a young age is.

Kirilo81:

efilzeo:... Esperanto ... Teaching it to a kid would just be fun and totally effortless contrary to teaching the guitar, ...

As I said, I talk to our exclusively in Esperanto, and unless you already master it very very very well it IS a huge effort to do so, if you want to use the proper words for all the things in the world and not just eh, tiu, hm, aĵo or some makeshift circumlocutions.

Here are some words I needed in the past few days and which are not the things you usually discuss about during UK or in Libera Folio: kluĉilo, okzalo, ŝenoprazo, spatelo, remorko, benjeto, intermita avertlumilo, tenajlo, slojdi, sultra.

I don't regret the way I chose and I don't want to dissuade anyone from doing so, but be aware that it is not a piece of cake and have a look at the literature on multilingual education (including the cases of native Esperanto).

That's a good point, nevertheless he already learnt the language's core so that he just needs to add vocabs to his lexicon, right?