As you’re doing your research on the different daycare options,, you might be wondering what option is right for you. (The emphasis here if on "for you" because we believe there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to childcare!)
While I don’t have the magic formula for you, here’s a few criteria that may help you decide:
Type of Daycare
Check what options are available where you live. The most common types of daycare in Germany are:
KiTa (Kindertagesstätte): “KiTa” is the general term used for daycare facilities. These daycare centers cater to children from as young as 8 weeks up to 3 or 6 years old, depending on where you live in Germany.
Kindergarten: This is the description of daycare that is generally for children aged 3 to 6.
Tagesmutter/Tagesvater: A Tagesmutter or Tagesvater (professional childminders) typically look after up to five children under the age of 3.
However, they may have different cost structures, so find out from your local Jugendamt or family center how it all workds.
In addition, there are private daycare facilities, nannies, co-working offices with childcare, au pairs, etc.
Bow let's look at the different structures and concepts that may help you choose the right option for your family:
Size of the Centers
Kitas come in all shapes and sizes – small, intimate groups of just 3-5 kids (usually found at a Tagespflege or Tagesmutter) and big Kitas of 150 kids or more.
Is one better or worse than the other? Not necessarily! Just because the Kita is big overall doesn’t mean that individual groups are big. Ask about how many groups there are, how many kids are cared for in each group and what the ration (Schlüssel) is of educators (Erzieher*innen) to children.
Distance from home
This may be one of the first criteria you will look at – how long will it take you to get to the Kita from where you live as well as to your place of work, or study.
However, do look at different options as the closest one may not be the best one for you based on other criteria and your ability to feel like your child will be well taken care of there.
Hours (and summer closure)
Make sure you research the hours of your target Kitas to make sure they align with your work schedule since some Kitas (and often Tageseltern) close fairly early, i.e. at 2 or 3pm.
Every Kita will also have some days that they close for team days, workshops and usually for some time in the summer – this can vary between a few days and more than a month, so it’s good to find out about this (and if they offer any “emergency” care during this period).
Age of the Kids
You will also find different concepts when it comes to age – many Kitas have two different ares:
One area with one or more groups for kids 1-3 years old (Krippe)
One area with one or more groups for kids 3-6 years old (Kindergarten or Elementarbereich).
Some Kitas are altersgemischt meaning kids aged 1-6 years old are all taken care of together. This is usually the case with smaller daycare centers.
Sometimes, Kitas may also have age homogenous groups – i.e. all the 1 year olds are in one group, all the two year old are in one group, etc.
All these difference concepts ave pros and cons – for example, in a mixed age group with kids from 1-6 years old, the younger ones may learn from the older children but they also have to learn from an early age to stand up for themselves.
Your Child's Character and Preferences
Here are a few examples that may help you decide what type of setting is right for you:
Does your child prefer intimate settings and is easily affected by noise? Then a small group might be better.
Does your child like or need a lot of structure? Ask about the Kita about their schedule.
Does your child like to explore and follow their own interests and schedule? An open concept might just be the right thing.
Size of the Kita
The size of the daycare center may also play into your decision making process. A small Kita might feel right for you because it's intimate and feels more cozy.
A bigger Kita meanwhile may offer more options and different rooms and materials for the kids to explore. But it can feel noisy and overwhelming at times.
You will also want to consider that in big Kitas staff can substitute for sick teachers whereas this is harder in smaller Kitas and for Tageseltern that work on their own.
Finally, and there may only be anecdotal evidence on this topic, but it feels like kids in smaller setting with less (little) kids may get sick a little less often – but this is just our personal experience!
Concept
There are a ton of different concepts out there – Reggio, Montessori, Situationsansatz, Fröbel…
These concepts structure the day-to-day work at the Kita and define how teachers, parents and kids work together – but it's hard to know what they all mean!
In our mini series on Kita concepts we explore the most common concepts.
Focus
There’s different focus areas for Kitas such as movement, nature/outdoors, integration (of kids with disabilities), theater, religion, etc.
It varies if and how these are implemented, so ask what this means for the Kita’s day-to-day.
Other
What is else important for your family? Think about languages (check for bilingual Kitas in your area), food (vegetarian, vegan, made in-house…), is it important for you that the Kitas have their own outdoor space...?
Lots of options to consider but hopefully the above checklist is helpful for you!
