Germany: parents to get more day-care options

by Filippo Proietti Germany currently has a huge lack of day-care spots for kids. Germany hopes to catch up with other European countries with progressive childcare policies by providing more nursery school places in a bid to encourage mothers to work and reverse a declining birth-rate. Reacting to a host of reports and expert commissions that have consistently pointed to the lack of childcare options as a major obstacle for women to have kids, the government said it plans by 2013 to triple the number of day-care spots for young children to 750,000 despite uncertainties about how this will be financed. Representatives from regional and local governments met to talk about the proposal with Ursula von der Leyen, Germany?s Family Minister. Participants said they were satisfied with the proposal. Increasing the number of nursery spots would mean that one out of every three German children would have access to a day-care spot, a number von der Leyen has pointed out will merely bring Germany up to the European average. At present, Germany lags behind its European neighbours in providing day care. Figures released by the government show only 13.5 per cent of children under three attend nursery schools, compared with the European average of 35 per cent. By increasing the number of day care places, Germany will reach ?European standards,? von der Leyen said, stressing that ?quick action? was needed because ?waiting lists are too long.? Government ministers are also hoping that a greater availability of day care places will encourage women to have more children, offsetting a fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman that is one of the lowest in Europe. The specifics of how the program will be financed have not been finalized. Von der Leyen said there will be federal funding for the childcare plan. The leaders of the ruling coalition, which is made up of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), will discuss the plan later this month. Von der Leyen, a mother of seven children, recently sparked controversy within the ranks of the CDU with legislation to make it easier for women to combine careers and family responsibilities. The minister wants to ensure that every third child in Germany under the age of three will have the chance to attend nursery school. Conservatives have criticized the plan as a break with traditional family values. Conservatives feel women should be encouraged to stay at home with their children. When von der Leyen first announced her plans earlier this year she saw her popularity rise, but also met with a barrage of criticism from conservative church leaders. The Catholic Bishop of Augsburg, Walter Mixa, said women were being ?degraded into birthing machines,? and called the minister?s idea ?blinded by ideology and hostile to children.? Besides offering more day-care spots, in January von der Leyen also pushed through new legislation that increases the amount of childcare benefits. Mothers or fathers now receive two-thirds of their last net pay-check – up to eur 1,800 – for up to 12 months as long as they stay at home to take care of the baby. And if the other parent takes an additional two months off to care for the child, the government heaps two more months of pay on top. Yet there?s ongoing concern that German women will continue to choose careers over having children. A recent study carried out by the Institute for German Economics (DIW) shows that Germany?s failure to encourage women to start families will have serious long-term repercussions for the economy.