It’s a well known fact that kids now have a right to join a krippe from their first birthday but there aren’t enough places. Unfortunately, even with the few places, many foreign parents avoid taking their children to the Kita/Krippe.
As of 2011, only 14% of migrant parents and 30% of native parents had their children being taken care of by strangers before they turned 3. Research has shown that children who when to the krippe before joining Kindergarten did better in school than those who didn’t. 60% of the migrant kids who never went to the krippe required extra help in school unlike 41% of those who went to the Krippe. Then if parents know this, why do they still insist on their children not joining the Krippe earlier? Here are a few reasons given by a research from Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration (SVR).
1. Parents having problems with German. Many migrant parents can’t communicate in German making it a nightmare to find a spot for their children.
2. Most don’t understand the concept of Krippe, they never had it in their countries of origin
3. Most aren’t educated and complain about the quality of Kitas and Krippen.
4. Some parents want multilingual teachers at the Kita
5. Irregular times for the Kita
6. Too expensive
7. Distance from their homes
8. Religious or cultural reasons
Migrant parents of the second generation behave more like the Germans unlike first generation parents. The report also says that uneducated Germans and migrant families have lower chances of getting a spot in most Kitas.
The report suggests the relevant authorities build and equip more Kitas and secondly do away with the Betreuungsgeld. The report suggest, poorer parents will prefer to take the money instead of taking their kids to the Kita although they won’t be helping the child learn anything when the child stays home.
As a foreign parent in Germany, are your kids in the Kita/Krippe? Why or why not? Do the reasons given apply to you? Would be nice to hear what you guys think