So you've moved to Germany, everything is sorted with the house, the car, the cat, insurance - and now both partners wish to work.

The home truth is, working will be very difficult before your kids have settled in.

And a second fact: both kids and parents will settle in more easily the more you know about the way that locals deal with daily life - such as work, schools, day care, etc.

Here are the available choices available as you ponder what to do with the children while you head out to work:

Child minders (Tagesmütter)
Babysitters
Au pairs
Day care (Kinderkrippen, Kinderhorte, Kernzeitbetreuung)
Toddler groups/nursery schools (Kindergärten)

Child minders in Germany: Tagesmütter

Everybody in Germany who feels qualified to do so and who loves children can start a job as a child minder. There are day-mums; Tagesmutteren, day-dads; Tagesvateren, and sometimes day-grannies; Tagesgroßeltern, who take care of other people's children in their own home and get paid for this service.

Day-mums cost between about DM500 and DM850 per month, are hard to come by and are mostly found by word of mouth or via Tagesmüttervereine.

Many dual-career-couples take up their services when the little ones are still too young for Kindergarden (under three years old) or if the family needs somebody to look after a schoolchild in the afternoon - after all German public schools are only half-day-schools.

Some child minders may advertise in the regional newspapers. Let your personal intuition be your guide when you choose a child minder. Meet her with your child at her home. If you like her, try to find out if she follows the same principles in how to feed/entertain/educate a child.

Do child minders need a licence?

In principle, not. But good day-mums have done courses at the Jugendämter, Familienbildungswerke or Müttervereine. They should at least have done First Aid for children and babies.

Many day-mums have children of their own and are more or less experienced. Day-mums look after up to three children. Only if they care for four or more they need to get a licence from the Jugendamt.

What do you have to pay?

In big cities rates will generally be higher than in rural areas.

If a day-mum looks after a child full-time five days a week (eg: maximum of 40 hours) she would get at least DM650 to DM850 per month and child.

If she looks after the child four to five hours daily she will charge about DM500 per month and child. Sometimes the costs for nappies and food are included, sometimes you'll have to pay extra (or bring your own nappies, food, etc, especially when your child is allergy-prone).

Do you have to make up a contract?

Yes. It's advisable to have a written contract to avoid misunderstandings.

In the contract should be detailed: working hours, payment, what happens in case you are late in picking up your child, payment during holidays, sickness etc.

You can get standard copies of contracts at the Tagesmütterverband.

It's important to make sure that the day-mum has a Privathaftpflichtversicherung, insurance similar to personal liability insurance. The Tagesmütterverband also recommends a Betriebshaftpfichtversicherung.

For more information:
Contact the Tagesmütter-Bundesverband für Kinderbetreuung in Tagespflege e.V.
Breite Straße 2, 40670 Meerbusch
Tel.: 0 21 59/13 77
Fax: 0 21 59/20 20.
Staff speak basic English.

Recommended reading (in German):
Tagesmutter. Kinderbetreuung mit Familienanschluss, by Tanja Kurth
Publisher: SYM-Verlag
Cost: DM24 (available at the Tagesmütterverband).
Tagesmütter. Eine Orientierungshilfe, by Susanne Frinke-Dammann / Reiner Scholz
Publisher: rororo
Cost: DM14,90

Babysitters

If you need somebody reliable to look after your kids in the evenings and on weekends, you will probably find a high school or university student in your neighbourhood.

Good Babysitters (same word in German) can best be found with the help of other mothers/fathers. Ask them when you meet them at school or in the supermarket. Germans love to help! A babysitter should cost you around DM15 per hour.

If word of mouth fails, in bigger cities there are also Babysitter-Agenturen. You'll find them in your telephone book.