Many Germans are forced to combine work and raising a child
If a child gets sick, you will have to take sick leave from the first day. As Deutsche Welle notes, this is required by labor law. When an adult is sick, it is allowed to stay on sick leave without a doctor's note for up to three days; it is enough to inform the employer by email. A child is sick, but an adult took sick leave? Better not to risk it – this threatens immediate termination of the contract.
All developmental activities take place during working hours. Until the age of four, all courses, whether music, dance or drawing, require the presence of an adult: they are called "course for child and parents" – Eltern-Kind-Kurs. Therefore, children are usually brought by fathers and mothers, rarely by grandparents. And you are unlikely to see a child with a nanny at classes here at all.
Kindergartens can be municipal, private, church-affiliated or company-affiliated. Most of them operate on a traditional schedule: you bring your child between 8 and 9 am, and pick them up around five. Given the traffic situation, it is practically unrealistic for both parents to work full-time. A certain quota of places in the kindergarten involves a shortened day – the child must be picked up before three o'clock.
In the battle for talent, German corporations are expanding programs to support employees with children. These include parent-child offices – Eltern-Kind-Büro. In a specially equipped room, you can come with your child: you work, he plays. Of course, this is a temporary solution and only for emergencies: there is no one to leave the child with at home, the kindergarten is closed.
In Germany, a nanny is a rather rare phenomenon. Even children under three are preferred to be sent to kindergarten or to a so-called "day mother" – Tagesmutter, who has up to five children in a group. For children under three, you will have to pay a little more in kindergartens. Some families choose nanny services through the Au pair program. You are unlikely to see a child with a nanny on a playground.
Employees with school-age children take vacation during school holidays. Colleagues without children or with preschool children, as a rule, should take this into account to avoid a sudden shortage of staff at the enterprise. This does not mean that you will never be able to take vacation during holiday time while your child is in kindergarten, but the right of first choice still belongs to colleagues with schoolchildren.
It may happen that you are replacing a colleague who takes vacation during holiday time, and you will be asked not to plan vacation for that period in the coming years. Do not be upset – thanks to this, you have the opportunity to avoid miles-long traffic jams and crowds at the airport that can be observed at the beginning of the holidays and when schoolchildren return with their parents from vacation.
And leisure has its own specifics. For example, there are not many playgrounds in Germany; sometimes you have to drive or take public transport to the nearest one. Shopping centers and airports are also not equipped with children's play areas. But no one here would think of charging money for your child to go down a slide.
A child's birthday in Germany is, of course, a big holiday, but, as a rule, without animators, a crowd of adults, and expensive gifts. On average, Germans spend 15 to 20 euros on a gift for a child. Many parents follow the rule: the child invites as many guests as they are turning years old. The tradition of celebrating at home has not faded into the past – people willingly organize a party in a cozy atmosphere.