Starting Daycare: USA 🇺🇸 v. Germany 🇩🇪 #livingingermany #germanyvsusa #daycare

[usa.mom.in.germany]

These are my experiences. I'm sure there are some daycares in the USA that employ the ‘Berlin-Model' of daycare transition as I describe here, and daycares in Germany that have a different transition system. 💚

[TheGongzler]

Wow. America has really normalized dropping their child off with a stranger, after being taught their whole lives to not talk to or trust strangers. How scary for them :(

[michelewalburn]

And still so many people in the USA think this is as good as it gets and everyone fighting for more is just greedy. Ugh

[kathis]

I work in a daycare center in Munich. We use the Berlin model and while we would never send the parents away after one day, the settling-in period never lasts a year. It's a couple of weeks at the most.

[lenajeitz]

Ich wohne in der Schweiz und habe hier schon in mehreren Kitas gearbeitet. In all diesen Kitas haben sie das Berliner Eingewöhnungmodel umgesetzt oder sich davon inspirieren lassen. Dieses Model/Konzept klappt meiner Meinung nach sehr gut

[koenigkorczak]

Dropping off your toddler without a familiarization period is proven to be harmful for the child. This shouldn't be happening. On the other hand, 3 months can only be an exception and an entire year is just nonsense, in my opinion.

[cherylcarlson]

In 1990 I wasn't allowed to stay at daycare with my premature son at all, was told I had to "be strong". I responded by coming back early and unexpectedly. Found things that upset me, had to switch care several times. Was horrid. Having a license did not guarantee safe, good care.

[emjaydublyoo]

This was a shock for us. It lasted 1 day and we convinced them to allow our kid to stay full time because she is used to daycare. They were hesitant but agreed and it was fine.

[tealowkunterbunt]

Eingewöhnung ist wichtig. Unbelievable, that us citizens dont do it.

[RegebroRepairs]

Sweden also does that German thing. Poland does the American. In fact, they tell us that fathers should leave the kids in the start, because that makes it easier.

There was like two kids crying the first few days, and that was it. Honestly, I think this is mostly about how lazy the teachers are, in Sweden they seem to think that a child being unhappy at day care is the parents problem, not the teachers.

Polish preschool simply was WAY better than what Swedish preschool is, quite clearly.

[RJHW]

And some Start daycare at 6 weeks old...terrible to have little bonding time with your children but for many americans they have no choice! Really sad.
I'm glad I raised all my kids in Germany.

[Plueschbaellchen]

3 months is a quite long period even for german standards. The normal period is about 2-4 weeks. Of course every child is different and some are fine with just two weeks and others will need a lot longer. The great thing is that german parents normally have the option to plan for a longer transition period. When our daughter first started daycare we planned about three months for the transitioning. She was 11 months old at the time. She only needed three weeks to settle in but it was nice to still have the option to pick her up early with one parent at home at any time. There are still things that could be improved with german Elternzeit but overall it is a good system.

[AuntyStan]

Here in New Zealand all daycares as far as i know do a visitation plan type thing, where the parent and child visit the daycare for x amount of time over x amount of weeks, then after that time is up the child stays and parent goes to do what they need to do.

Some children adjust quicker than others, ive seen some that tell there parent to leave and some that have a meltdown but once they are distracted with something it normally stops pretty quick, the teachers all know how to handle it.

Then you get the kids who dont want to leave at the end of the day

[Sweet]

It's crazy I see your short videos and I kind of like Germany now! Lol. And crazier that my husband saw a boy singing a psalm in German in one of his dreams! I was telling him, hey what if for some reason we might go to there and then get stock there and have a baby who will have to speak the language there. It is wild! 😊

[goodvibes]

My kid on the first day of the German kindergarten just said to me at the door „ok then, see you tonight“, gave me a kiss and walked off 😅 the teachers were amazed. Me too..
but I must say, she’s been to kindergarten in th UK before, where I did have to stay a few hours the first day. But just that.

[weinhainde]

Es ist schon sehr verallgemeinert, bei uns: 1 Tag, Kind 3 Jahre, nach einer Stunde: Mama du kannst gehen, hier sind sooo viele Kinder und die großen sind nett 😉🙂

[thomaskuppers]

Wow ok I'm from Germany and my wife only went three days with my first son to be there with him. With our second son it was only one day. They are both very social and the younger one was already familiar with everyone there because he went there everyday to take his bigger brother home with him...

[KatZwe]

For most children I know it was 2-3 weeks, but during covid it often took much longer. Because just when the child was ready, the daycare had to close down for some weeks and you would have to start that process all new again, when they opened again.

[CassVanCat]

As a mother one of the most horrifying things was the fact that if I was born a couple hundred kms south I would have had to leave my newborn infant with a stranger. It is the most insane thing to me in the world.

[danielsaunders]

Imagine living in a country that prioritized raising children healthily over increasing the profit margins of the super wealthy.