Children in Germany: Benefits of having children in Germany -

Children in Germany (under 18) correspond to 12% of the whole population living in the country, and 74% have siblings. Germany has a is a great country to start a family. Continue reading to know some of the cultural, social health related and financial advantages of having children in Germany.

Midwives – Die Hebammen

Midwives (die Hebammen) in Germany are medical professionals. They are licensed to perform physical examinations of mom and baby. Every pregnant woman is supposed to get her own Midwife. Their services are covered by the statutory health insurance. They are on call 24 hours a day and help with absolutely any questions related to the pregnancy and also post-partum (including pregnancy symptoms, breast-feeding, formula or bathing).

Midwives are also the ones organising and conducting the pre and post partum classes. Those classes can be really helpful. Specially pre partum classes for foreign mothers. Trying to understand alone how everything around birth and newborns works in Germany, is not an easy task. Post partum classes will help your body to restore, but also help you to share and learn experiences from other recent moms.

Midwife in Germany: Vocabulary you need after the baby arrives

Father’s role on the newborn’s life

It is common to see a father walking by himself with a new born on a pram or even on a baby sling/baby wrap. I confess that I was at first not used to see it or even expect fathers to take that much responsability with newborns.

The truth is that I love it for so many reasons! I always imagine that those mothers are finally washing their hair or having some quality time with some friends. Not to talk about the early bond that fathers and babies are building while spending time together.

Drogary shops

Drogary shops in Germany are a must! Very rarely you can find some needed products in supermarkets. Or these kind of poducts are too expensive in supermarkets compared to drogary shops in Germany. The main ones are dm and Rossmann. There you can find many hygiene, make-up, cleaning and baby products. In some dm’s you even find baby clothes.

The post partum pads (pelzy or bella mamma) that you get in the hospital and are so practical at home, are also in dm. For example: Baby bottles, diappers, pacifiers, baby tea, formula, baby bath products and diaper creams have a whole shop segment in these drogary shops.

Social security

A huge advantage and a very good example how Germany supports families with children. It is common for German mothers to stay at least 2 years at home taking care of their child or children. There is some historical and cultural background related to it. But let’s get real, they do it because they can afford it!

The German social security system provides many benefits for parents who have children in Germany. The first benefit is the maternity benefit (Das Muttershaftsgeld) for nursing and expecting women. Parents can also receive parental allowance (Das Elterngeld) to compensate the costs of not working during the time you are taking care of your child. That time (Parental time = Die Elternzeit) can go up to 24 months. On top of that there is also the child benefit (Das Kindergeld), a financial support to offset the costs of raising children. The child benefit is a monthly financial support usually until the child is 18 years old. The amount depends on the number or siblings and not on the parents’ earnings: