Can we afford this? Income / Investment / Equity

No, but parental leave does not count in the sense that it is also not included when calculating the last working months, so for the second child the salary before the first parental leave was used. We only had a 2-month gap, and that was maternity leave with full pay.

from on the go

I know children who did not go to a daycare mother or similar at 1-1.5 years old – I didn’t like their development in terms of language and social behavior.

And exactly this component, unfortunately, Saruss has ignored. Additionally: My wife wants to manage the household besides the child and also earn her own money.

So, it’s not done because of money or no interest in the child.

We didn’t really miss anything – and that’s what matters.

:

My wife doesn’t earn 1000 euros gross – and she is not alone in that. And we are not a big exception as a construction couple.

And still, it wouldn’t be financially ideal if I were the only earner – that wouldn’t be a worst-case scenario, but life is more pleasant for everyone that way. Besides, my wife doesn’t want to be a housewife who stands in front of the stove at home until the end of her days (or upbringing)...

I know children who did not go to a childminder or similar at 1-1.5 years old – I did not like their development in terms of language and social behavior.

And unfortunately, Saruss overlooked exactly this component.

If you have read everything correctly, you know that this is not the case. A childminder does the same as a mother, only she has several children who are not her own. I also know negative stories about that!
I also know people who think it is best (for the child) to put them in kindergarten as early as possible. And I have always said "to each their own," but sometimes I do wonder why people have children (other than for retirement). This is not about anyone personally here. So just take it down a notch. Everyone is a little different, and that is a good thing.
In my case, it is not as if I hid my child in the basement for three years. For example, we have slightly older neighbor children, playgroups, relatives and friends with children, and many opportunities for movement thanks to the house and garden.
From a biological perspective, this is actually different from what others argue here with "natural tribes." The natural age for weaning is around 2 years, and humans as mammals are programmed by original evolution for family bonding (and long attachment to the mother). The fact that in the last few handfuls of thousands of years humans have done and can do this differently through food technology and social (regional) differences is a special case.

Why slow down? Is someone upset? Always these insinuations...

A childminder certainly doesn’t do the same as a mother – she can’t and doesn’t want to. Nice that you know negative stories (with !, those always exist – so what is the point of this note?), but I never said that our way is the right one, it is just a description of us. And only now you say that there is no ONE way. That’s true, but before you presented it quite one-sidedly – and even if you didn’t mean it that way, just accept that it came across like that...

I think very highly of the concept of early care and noticed very quickly how much progress the children made in that environment. And I’m against a child staying at home until kindergarten age (i.e. from about three) – or even worse: being mostly cared for by the grandparents...

The daycare discussion is always the same... No matter how you do it... almost everywhere, 10% of the net income goes towards it. For us, it is 210 euros with 2,400 euros net.

Wow, that's expensive with you...