Nothing at all – or more than 1,000 euros a month: Parents have to dig very differently into their pockets to look after their children in daycare. The place of residence is particularly important.
There is a wide range of daycare fees in Germany. Depending on where you live, attending daycare can be free, or it can cost several hundred euros per month. In individual cases, if the parents’ income is exceptionally high, it can be more than 1,000 euros. This emerges from an evaluation by the Institute of German Economics (IW) Cologne, which is available to the dpa.
State regulations and fee schedules of 82 large cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants were considered. If possible, the basic fees in the first half of 2024 were taken into account – additional costs for meals and other services may be added.
Place of residence, income and age of the child are crucial
A patchwork can be seen not only in the amount of the fees, but also in the criteria used: In addition to the place of residence, the age of the children, the extent of care and the annual income of the parents determine the amount of the fees – with income in each federal state be calculated differently.
Therefore, the comparability of the study results is limited, it said. The study does not take into account the quality of daycare care, for example how many children a single teacher has to look after. Parents with low incomes who receive child supplements or housing benefit generally do not have to pay daycare fees.
Expensive daycare for children under three years old
According to the study, full-day daycare care can be expensive, especially for children under the age of three. For example, with an annual income of up to 35,000 euros in Göttingen (Lower Saxony), 291 euros per month are charged for full-day, eight-hour care for a family with a one-year-old child.
In Reutlingen (Baden-Württemberg), 387 euros per month are due for eight hours of care for a one-year-old child with a gross parental income of 50,000 euros. In Mülheim an der Ruhr (North Rhine-Westphalia), parents with an annual income of more than 175,000 euros pay 1,009 euros per month for 45 hours of weekly care for a child under two years of age – in Bergisch-Gladbach (NRW) the figure is for those with an income of more than 200,000 euros even 1220 euros.
State child day care free of charge
On the other hand, attending state or state-funded day care in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and, from 2027, also in Saarland is generally free of charge. “The families here are only charged for additional services, such as meals,” the study says.
In other federal states there is sometimes a fee exemption for children of a certain age. For example, childcare in Rhineland-Palatinate is free of charge for children aged two and over. In addition, there are sometimes state regulations regarding multiple children being cared for. In addition, municipal fee schedules do not apply to privately run facilities in all federal states – but these do have a large share in the care.
Offers for children under the age of three are not enough
In Germany, a daycare place must be made available for children between their third birthday and starting school. Children between their first and third birthdays are also entitled to care – in a facility or in day care.
“However, the existing offers for children under three are far from sufficient to actually cover the care needs expressed by parents,” the study says.
Source: Stern
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