I don't actually know if the child was born in America or not. My friend (an internet friend, by the way, I haven't met her physically) is teaching in a primary school with mainly Mexican and Caribbean children.

This child is being minded by his *great-grandparents*, it seems, rather than grandparents, and these people are illegal immigrants to the US, and speak little or no English. My friend doesn't speak their language, and has to rely on the times that she can get the services of a translator.

The child's father, back in the country from which they emigrated, wants him back, but apparently the great-grandparents are worried that he isn't a suitable guardian for their beloved child. Can you imagine their terror now?

Her own working day, counting commuting time, is 12 hours, and she's not paid a lot. She's teaching a class of 20 five-year-olds, of whom 18 have never spoken English before.

I've passed on to her all the excellent suggestions made here, for which she's grateful. She will now follow these up with the principal of her small school, who has been trying to find help for this child herself.