Learning Problems-The-

KITA or daycare provider?

introduction

Nowadays, more and more families have both parents working, which means that they need a childcare place for their young children, if the family, for example the grandparents, cannot take over. Most of the children attend daycare, but in some regions in Germany daycare places are very scarce, so that more and more parents are discovering daycare for themselves. If parents are free to choose between both types of care, the question quickly arises as to which is the right or better type of accommodation for their own child and the whole family.

Comparison of the two types of care

Day care centers often have public bodies, such as the city or municipality. As a result, they have to meet certain standards. A childminder is a private person. Accordingly, childminder care also takes place in their private rooms, i.e. in their apartment or in rented rooms. In a public daycare center, the rooms belong to the provider and not to the individual educators. In most cases, daycare centers also offer the children an outdoor area, i.e. a garden to play. A childminder can also offer this, but does not have to. With a childminder, a maximum of five children are always accommodated with the same person. In a daycare center there are usually several groups, with around two teachers and 25 children. The children not only get to know many other children there, but also various educators, daycare workers, FSJ-lers, interns, etc. For this reason, there is a wide range of toys in a daycare center, groups that do handicrafts, sing, paint or participate in Going to the garden, etc. The main responsibility in a kindergarten is always borne by trained and qualified educators, whereas the childminder has completed a short training course in childcare at the youth welfare office and may have acquired further knowledge through further training, she works independently or is employed by the youth welfare office.

For more information about taking care of, see: Nanny

advantages

The daycare center offers the following advantages over a childminder that cannot be ignored. In a daycare center, the children have more contact with many children, so that various friendships can develop. The many children also create a completely different and more diverse range of activities, with different groups and more play materials. In this way, the children also have contact with several caregivers who can exchange and advise one another. Furthermore, there is a reliable quality that is regularly checked in public institutions. In addition, accommodation in a public daycare center is significantly more cost-effective than a childminder.

However, staying with a childminder also has advantages. The children are not permanently in a large group, but spend the day with a maximum of four other children. In this way, the child minder can become an intensive caregiver for the child through high-quality care. In addition, a childminder has a completely different atmosphere than a daycare center, it is much more familiar and familiar, this is due to the fact that the childminder usually looks after the children at home. In addition, a childminder is significantly more flexible than a daycare center when it comes to the timing of the accommodation and is based entirely on the needs of the parents.

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disadvantage

Placing the child in a daycare center also has disadvantages when compared with placement with a childminder. Children who are very shy and feel bad about themselves are sometimes overwhelmed in a large group and drown in it. Furthermore, there are only a few daycare places, so the waiting times are long. In addition, the daycare is not very flexible in terms of time, so that the parents always have to comply with the daycare hours. But accommodation with a childminder also has disadvantages, so the costs are significantly higher than in a daycare center. In addition, it is difficult to find a suitable childminder and to assess their skills, the whole quality depends on a single person. This also has the consequence that a strong personality formation of this person can take place in the child. This person does not need any training, just a basic qualification. The fact that a childminder is an individual can be further extended as a disadvantage: if the childminder is sick, parents have to find a replacement quickly.

What about the costs?

The youth welfare offices calculate the parental contribution for a childminder according to the rates of the municipalities; this calculated amount depends on the federal state. The fee schedule is also subject to the parents' income and the number of hours of care. The youth welfare offices are the point of contact when applying for public subsidies for child minders. There are some basic requirements for a public subsidy for a childminder, including that 50 percent of both parents or single parents are in work, study or retraining and that the child needs at least six hours of care per week. In the case of a daycare center run by a public institution, the costs also depend on the individual federal states, but also on the municipalities. In general, the costs for a daycare place are made up of meals and care. The parents always have to pay for food. There are municipalities where the parents do not have to pay any costs, but this is more the exception than the rule. Normally, the contribution to be paid is calculated from the gross annual income, the number of hours of care per week and the number of children who need care in this family. In addition, it is possible to apply for a cost subsidy at a daycare center in order to reduce the monthly costs.

How do I know the best form of care for my child?

The type of care mostly depends on the age of the child, so a childminder is recommended for children from six months of age, as there are hardly any daycare centers that take such small children. A child of this age needs much more intensive care and support, which cannot be guaranteed in a kindergarten due to the low staffing ratio. For children from the age of three or four, on the other hand, a daycare center is more advisable, as they can come into more contact with their peers there. This contact is needed for the child's social development. Furthermore, the preferred form of care depends on the parents' working hours. In the case of very irregular working hours or times that last into the late evening hours, a childminder is preferable not only for the child but for the whole family situation, as she can coordinate the care times much more flexibly with the family. For children of an age where both types of care are possible, it is advisable to visit the kindergarten of choice and the childminder with the child for one day. On this day you can not only get a first impression of the atmosphere and the daily routine, but also clarify open questions in order to be able to better assess whether or not you want to leave your own child there for care.

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