Day care

Your child is entitled to a place in a day care center like a nursery school or kindergarten. Your infant can get in contact with other children, play and learn there. Apart from that, having your child in day care will pave the way for you to have some time for yourself, for handling your own issues and maybe also for working in a paid job. Most children go to the nursery school after their first birthday or shortly before (but actually you have a legal right even before that) and to the kindergarten from around their third birthday.

You can look for a day care center a year in advance. If your child should start preschool from its first birthday on, it is best to start looking for a place shortly after birth. The first episode of the time your child spends in day care is called “Eingewöhnung” in German. The process names the time your infant is slowly adapts to going to preschool and to be separated from the parents. Do plan plenty of time if you plan to go to work afterwards. Some children like going to nursery school straight away, some find it a little harder to adapt. Every child has their own pace and that’s ok, don’t forget that!

Before you sign the contract, you should visit the day care center and get yourself an opinion on it. You can decide if you like it and if it suits your child. Let the employees explain to you how the teachers and educators work there, what the daily routine is like and how the meals work.

a little hint: If you receive money from “Job Center”, child benefit, housing benefit, social assistance or asylum seeker benefits, you can ask the Youth Welfare Office to exempt you from the parental contribution. That means you do not have to pay the fee for the day care of your child.

If you need a place in preschool or kindergarten for your child, find options in your area in the adress box.