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> Most places don’t pay well enough to afford daycare. I wish the problem was money. We have been looking for a kindergarten for our daughter (~5 years old) fo
by lqet 3y ago
> Most places don’t pay well enough to afford daycare.
I wish the problem was money. We have been looking for a kindergarten for our daughter (~5 years old) for 2.5 years now in southwestern Germany. At one point we sued the local district as children are legally entitled to a place in kindergarten. We settled out of court and the district now pays us ~300 EUR/month for a nanny who sometimes watches her together with 5 other kids (very unreliable, and the children are all under 3 years old, so hardly suitable playing partners). Winning the case wouldn't have made any difference, there simply aren't enough kindergarten teachers available. In our suburb, there are around 120 children in kindergarten age, and the waiting list has over 50 children on it. She has been on this waiting list since March 2021. She also has no chance of getting a place in a neighboring city / suburb, because local residents are always preferred. We often joke that it was easier to buy a car in East Germany than to get a kindergarten place here. We have pretty much given up at this point, and my wife had to stop working. Ironically, she is a social education worker, so exactly the profession that is in very short supply.
- lumost 3y agoI’m curious, in the US - k-12 educators are not known to be paid well. In many cases they simply can not afford market rate housing in 2023. Assuredly this contributes to the high cost of childcare in the US. Is the situation similar in Germany? It strikes me that if a teacher can’t afford a reasonable life with their own family, then it’s unlikely the education system is sustainable.
- lqet 3y agoHousing is a substantial part of the problem. We have observed a common pattern: educators apply for a job here, interview goes well, both parties are happy, contract is signed, and after months and months of unsuccessfully searching for an apartment, the educator cancels the contract because the money is not enough to live in a hotel full-time (also, who wants that?). But the problem isn't so much that of affordable apartments our houses, although politicians often frame it that way. There simple aren't enough apartments / houses available, in any price range. We competed with 100s of people for our current apartment. We recently wanted to buy a house and competed with 50 people. Last year, our local government started to actively search, buy or rent apartments which they can rent / sublet exclusively to kindergarten teachers.