Construction financing: Implementation, detailed data available

Have you ever considered not taking the full 2 years of parental leave? We can only afford one year of parental leave at the moment. And for that, we also have to save a bit so that it doesn’t get too tight. So for you: Save for child no. 1. Then go back to work after one year. Maybe even full-time. The kids handle that really well! After that one year and saving again, child no. 2 will be planned. As soon as maternity leave starts, child no. 1 can reduce their daycare time. That way you will have more parental allowance for the second round. It will still be tight, but at least it will be doable. Childcare costs for you apparently play a role at the maximum level of 444 € (I suspect without the meal allowance). For child no. 2, it will of course be cheaper or the contribution will disappear altogether.

I personally have no problem with shortened parental leave. I also don't know it any other way (first year in daycare, back then still in the GDR).

My girlfriend sees it differently, though. Having a child and then going back to work "right away" is hardly an option when it comes to parenting. But she only knows it that way as well. The West also wasn't very familiar with daycares. At least that's my observation.

For fun, we checked some daycares here (Pinneberg district) the other day. Between 250-450 €. But I don't know how it looks with the second child.

Second child born 12 months after the first and full parental allowance is granted again.

Parental allowance is calculated based on: net income of the last 12 months of employment before the birth of the child. Parental leave with parental allowance from child one will then be ignored.

Our little one started daycare at 10 months old. It was a mini daycare with 9 children under 3 and 2 educators. So almost at the level of a daycare mom. The little one always felt very well cared for there and at 2 years and almost 3 months old is really thriving because of it. He loved his daycare from the start and it helped me to be just myself again and not only the mother animal. It is of course important that the evening time with mom and dad is used intensively. Our planned number 2 will go the same way. It does mean a bit more stress for mom, working full-time on the side, but it is doable. But everyone sees it differently. A friend is of the opinion that the first 4 years belong to the mother. No educator should interfere. The girl is now 4 years old, has extreme problems integrating into a larger group, and is a little better in language than my son. But well, that is an extreme.

Our little one started daycare at 10 months old. It was a mini-daycare with 9 children under 3 and 2 educators. So almost at the level of a day mother. The little one was always very well cared for there and at 2 years and almost 3 months is really good at it. He loved his daycare from the beginning and it helped me to be just myself again and not only the mother figure. Of course, it is important that the evening time with mom and dad is used intensively. Our planned number 2 will go the same way. It does mean a bit more stress for mom, working full-time on the side, but it is doable.

But everyone sees it differently. A friend believes that the first 4 years belong to the mother. No educator should interfere. The girl is now 4 years old, has extreme problems integrating into a larger group and is linguistically somewhat better than my son. But well, that is an extreme.

That is the typical nonsense. 1 you first have to be able to afford financially to stay at home for 4 years.

2 We have experienced that children are almost crazy about other children and absorb their knowledge endlessly. Our children both started daycare at 1.5 years and made enormous progress. When I compare it to how the neighbor’s son behaves when he is 3.5 years old in daycare. He is almost shy and totally dependent.

In the past (just a few years ago) it was normal "in the West" to start kindergarten at around 3 years old. Thirty years ago, this was still affordable.

My father was a salaried gas station attendant and my mother was a housewife for 30 years, yet every year included 2 weeks of skiing holidays at a hotel and 2 weeks of summer/autumn holidays in a holiday apartment.

Financial times have changed, forcing actions like these for the most part.

And as far as sense or nonsense in child-rearing is concerned, we could probably fill an entire forum on our own.

I find 10 months just as extreme as 4 years. Why not 2-3 years... that's wonderful. My wife has been at home for almost 4 years now and no, we really can't afford it, we want to afford it for both children.