Advice on finding childcare in Berlin

Hello!

Husband got the job in Berlin and we are moving in April! I would need some advice on how to get started finding childcare for my two year old daughter. I am expecting baby2 next week and it will be challenging to manage the move with a few weeks old baby and a toddler. The difficulty is that I do not know our final location yet, we will be in temporary accommodation until we find our new home.

Ideally I would like to find a mother's help/nanny to help me at the beginning and look for other options once we know our final location. Other options: Creche, childminder etc.

Can you recommend any reputable agency or any other way to get started?

Thanks in advance,
S

Hello S,
You will have no trouble finding nannies here. If you search on this site and on Craigslist Berlin, you will find that there is an abundance of people looking for work as a nany / child caretaker. I'm not available long term, but when you arrive if you need someone in the beginning, feel free to contact me. I have years and years of experience and impeccable references. -Alison
alisontrainer@gmail.com

Hi!

I think it depends on if you want to find an official place in a KINDERGARDEN (it may take some time until you find one) or just want a baby sitter / grown-up playmate for your daughter. If you look for an official kindergarden place, consider billingual kindergardens, usually they are happy to get an english speaking child, so it shouldn't be a problem.

By the way, I am Mom myself (son, 1 year old), study English and Primary School Education here. If you need somebody reliable to help you around in the first days after your arrival and later, or look for a housekeeper or babysitter / au-pair, let me know, perhaps I could help you.

Also, if you just need other information about mothers+kids in Berlin, drop me a line at hi_assiaATwebDOTde; I was so happy to get support from everywhere when I had questions; I will be really happy now to help the others.

Wish you all the very best
ask

We are planning the big move from the U.S. to eastern Berlin, and I would like to eventually find childcare for my 2.5 year-old daughter. Does anyone have suggestions where to start to looking? How much should I expect to pay? I'm thinking of half-day childcare 3 to 5 days a week.

Thanks so much for your help.

If and when you get residential status in Germany, then your children will be able to attend kindergarten (called Kita in Berlin), like all others. If you stay in the non-private system (which I recommend), then the costs depend on your family income, but you would not expect to pay more that 150 euros per month, for full day, including food. There are a number of English/German bi-lingual kitas in the state system.

I assume that you and your family understand all the issues involved getting residential status and work permits. THis has been discussed in great detail in various threads here on Toytown.

Feel free to ask any other questions, and best of luck on organising the move - Berlin is a great city in which to live.
Colin

It all depends on the area you are going to live. Some KiTas have a 6 to 12 months waiting list in Berlin.

Do Kitas take children under 4? My daughter is 2 and a half. She'll probably be 3 by the time we'd be ready to put her in a Kita.

Can you sign up for just half days?

I have a million questions - Does anyone know of a website or information source where I can find out more information on various Kitas in Berlin?

I'm assuming that it's a little like the States where wait lists are long for good places, so I'm trying to start early. Thanks again for the help. I feel very ignorant, but I'm trying to educate myself as quickly as possible!

Kitas accept children from young ages and three year olds are OK.

The waiting line has to do not only with how good the Kita is, but also the region you'll be living in. I am yet to encounter a Kita in Friedrichshain that has a waiting line - this has nothing to do with quality, but there is an availability of Kitas in the East, more than in the West (or in prenzlauer berg, where there are many - *too many* ;-) - toddlers )

People normally choose KiTas based on the convenience of location, not "quality". You do not want to commute 2 hours daily to bring / pick up your kid.

As far as I know, you do not "sign up for half days", you just go and pick up your kid early. It is actually in the other way, some KiTas offer some extra time the kid could be there and you have to sign up for it (and normally pay for it), i.e. the normal timing is 7 hours a day and you need your kid to be there for 8 or 9 hours. Not every KiTa offers this.

Areas where I know it is not easy to get KiTas: P.Berg, Charlottenburg, Tiergarten, far east (Marzahn, Hellersdorf, etc)

If you plan to live for some years in Germany and your kid will go to school here, it is actually required that your kid goes at least 1 year to a KiTa to learn German language.

Some KiTas are religion-related (if that's a issue for you).

Depends on the Kita. Most Kitas take kids from 2 years, but there are quite a few that will take them younger. My daughter started in Kita when she was just over 1 year, and my son started at 18 months. There is no problem in half day in the Kita - that's what we have for our little boy. In fact, you need to get a document from the Children's Department of the Berlin Government to get you kid into any state run kita. THis will determin how many hours the kid stays in the Kita, and how much you have to pay (depends on your household income). You can request half a day or full day. They may not give you full day if there is one person staying at home full time, but that depends - you can usually argue for it.

Usually the best way to go about it is to visit various Kitas, check them out and se eif you like the place and staff, and if they have places or a waiting list. Then you can provisionally agree with the Kita, and then get the paperwork from the Jugendamt.

Interesting- I am not seeing anything here that matches my own experience.

First, if both parents work, then it is relatively easy to get a permit for kita care at almost any age. My youngest was 1.8 and I was able to get permission for kita care because I was in an integrationskurs. I was given 5-7 hours a day. Otherwise I would not have been able to do so (this is public, not private). Public tops out at 245 euros a month, income dependent, starting at 0 euros. Kita is available to all children at the year before 1st grade (here in Berlin that would be age 6+ with the new age levels). I'm not certain how private works, but I have to assume that it would be more expensive than my private (and there is an additional 50 euros a month for meals, warm, which I think are wonderful). We also chose public kita which is a bit away and have no car, and bus our children, and are very happy with their care (I grab a train and a bus and stop in every now and then, as well as help out on some auflugs).

You will also get permission for 5-7 hours in a public KITA care if neither of the parents are German and the language spoken at home is other than German. You don't have to work full time. That comes from my own experience. The fees depend on the income as it's been said before. Most of the Kitas will take children as young as 18 months. On the other hand you'd be expected to pay for a private kita between 500-650 € a month. That is 5 days a week. For 3 days will be around 300-400€.