[4. 7. 2012] The family organisations joint in AGF raise awareness to the fact, that now for many parents the stressful search for a suitable holiday care for their children starts. This problem results from the absence of enough places in facilities and care possibilities in Germany.
Summertime also is time for holiday. So now the best time of the year begins for many schoolchildren – and for a lot of parents the problems start exactly here. Families have a strong demand for a suitable childcare, particularly for young, school children. For a strong majority of parents with primary school-aged children it is difficult to reconciliate family life and paid work. More than 60 percent of mothers ask for a suitable care in the afternoon and in holiday time, more than one-third mentions, that they cannot be in employment because of missing options of childcare.
„The current debate about solutions for childcare above all concentrates on children at pre-school age. But the need for care doesn’t stop when entering school“, supports Bettina Müller-Sidibé, chairwoman of AGF, the demand of the parents. „Particularly younger school children can not be left unattended at afternoon or in the holiday time. But care opportunities for school children differ a lot in Germany, concerning availability, extent or type of offer“, adds Müller-Sidibé.
The problem has been known for a long time, but there are only few solutions and parents usually have to search for a long time, say the family organisations. There are far too little good and varied opportunities for children that also support the parents. Even the 8th family report, published by the federal government, too, makes some proposals by showing some good examples from Sweden and proposing structures that offer both leisure and educational activities in the holiday time. However, not only the national level but also the federal level and the municipalities have to be addressed. At least, there are already some of them leading the way with good examples.
Until something has been done, year by year parents and their children will face the difficulty of having to organize the school free time without any help.