Working parents struggle to find a daycare center that lasts longer than 3 pm, while daycare centers struggle to find new caregivers.

Until 3 p.m. is just not enough - and neither is a caregiver’s wage

“What will you do if your parents-in-law can’t take care of your son anymore?” the recruiter asked.

Tida, 35 years old and a mother of a four-year-old son was stunned into silence. When she decided to change her career path, she was faced with that question.

 “There was a moment of silence - the moment I realized that I couldn’t take the job” she said frustrated. 

She had started applying for kindergarten placements when she was six months pregnant - before her son was even born - yet she was still rejected. This forced her to go to the kindergarten next in town, which is only open until 3 p.m. Each day requires careful planning. Tida’s husband works overtime on several days a week so he can leave early to pick up their son, allowing Tida to at least keep her part-time job. 

For Tida, the pressure is not just about managing a work-life balance; it’s about constantly feeling stuck, caught between her desire to work and the lack of support available to her as a mother.

The challenges she faces as a mother are deeply frustrating. The harsh reality that she can't fully pursue her career aspirations simply because she has a son is disheartening and leaves her feeling defeated.

“I feel powerless, I have tried everything to find a place for my son and to return to work.  The working world is just not created for us mothers”

Tida is not the only mother who struggles to balance work and childcare. This seems to be a global phenomenon.

A KMPG report highlights that in the U.S up to 1.5 million workers, 90% of whom are women, either shorten working hours or miss work entirely each month because of childcare access.

The absence of reliable daycare services significantly impacts women’s productivity, pushing women further out of the workforce and making economic independence even harder to achieve. 

In the end, the daycare crisis affects all working parents’ productivity, yet no changes have been made to relieve the pressure on them

The reality is that the workforce needs caregivers—an occupation that, at first glance, many wouldn’t have thought to be so vital to our society. Now that they are starting to disappear, people are finally noticing their importance.

Although every child in Germany has had a legal claim to a kindergarten place since 2013, parents like Tida still struggle to receive one due to a severe staff shortage in the daycare sector.

According to the Education and Science Union of Germany (GEW) over 430.000 daycare places are missing.

German national news (Tagesschau) reported that 125.000 skilled workers are absent, which means that over two caregivers per kindergarten are required. As a result, daycare centers can only stay open until 3 p.m., while a typical workday lasts until 5 p.m.

This staff shortage creates an overwhelming workload for the remaining caregivers.

Not every caregiver can endure this immense workload. Burned out at just 24 years old. 

A short documentary from TRU DOKU reveals the exhaustion faced by caregivers. It follows Caro, who loved working with kids and was passionate about her occupation - until it overwhelmed her. “We have to be there for the kids even if there is a staff shortage, this however made me reach my limits over and over again” Caro reveals. After she came back from her break, caused by the burnout, she wasn’t completely ready yet, however she could not give up.

“You have to give 100% from the moment you step in. You are the strong educator that the kids look up to. 

This isn’t like in an office job where you can take a break from your paperwork, because you can’t take a break from kids.”

Working in a daycare center means putting the needs of children above your own, this becomes impossible if you have to prioritize your own first. Caro ended up changing her career. The newspaper Welt has reported that many caregivers are absent due to mental illness created from the extensive pressure due to the staff shortage.

As a caregiver, your job is to attend to the needs of children and be constantly available. You hold the responsibility of caring for them - parents trust you with their most precious belongings. This means you have to be attentive at all times. You are under constant pressure, yet you must remain calm. This constant care, without any breaks, can be mentally exhausting and overwhelming.

Taking care of children is not the only purpose of caregivers.

Caregivers not only care for children, but they also educate them.

However in Germany the term kindergarten “teacher”does not exist, they are referred to as caregivers. 

This frustrates many in the field, as they want to be seen as educators. “ I don’t understand why they are not named as teachers, in Thailand there is no difference” Tida explains.

Unlike teachers, caregivers in Germany do not earn a diploma, they only complete an apprenticeship.

This lack of academic recognition is one of the reasons the profession remains unpopular. Many believe that because their training does not take place at a university, their expertise is undervalued.

Therefore, caregiving is often seen as less of a profession and more of a low-skilled position, even though it involves a lot of responsibility.

“You can’t study patience and emotional relationships” Tida argues. She completed an internship at a daycare center and knows what challenges caregivers are faced with. 

“It is much harder to educate a child who never heard of rules before. You need patience”.

As a caregiver, you have to connect with the children on an eye-to-eye level,  all while setting clear boundaries and acting as a positive role model.

This profession requires emotional intelligence, responsibility and the ability to truly understand and support the needs of children. These qualities required to be an educator might not need a degree but they definitely demand passion and patience.

Educators play a crucial role in child development. Not only do they create a social environment for kids, but they also teach them important morals and values. This is especially vital for children from immigrant backgrounds, who struggle to adjust to a new culture. 

Educators carry a huge responsibility, especially since kindergarten kids are at a vulnerable stage where curiosity overwhelms them, and they may overlook potential danger. 

Caregivers have to balance supporting children’s spirit and setting protective boundaries.

An educator introduces them to the world, giving them their first glimpses of independence.

One caregiver can enable multiple women to return to work while preparing children not only for school, but for life beyond. 

Caregivers are important, society needs them especially in today’s modern working society where working parents rely on them. Not only do parents rely on them but children rely on caregivers too. Caregivers play an important role in their character development by supporting and teaching children about their needs. While this type of education may be different from the formal schooling children receive, it doesn’t make kindergarten education any less crucial to their development. In fact, kindergarten education lays the foundation for formal education.

Nevertheless, caregivers are not appreciated enough. A high school teacher who attended university earns about 6000€ a month, while educators earn roughly 3000€ a month. As a teacher you are granted civil servant status, but not as an educator.

Yet, educators are just as vital to society - especially for women who rely on them to remain in the workforce.

The government knows about the importance of daycare facilities. The Kita-Qualitäts-Gesetz (Kita Quality Act) ensures more qualified facilities and aims to relieve working parents but instead of investing in those facilities they should invest in the people who keep these facilities alive. 

Caregivers are just as important to society as teachers and perhaps they should be granted civil servant status as well, after all our working society relies on them, every family with children does.

This would finally give them the recognition and respect they deserve.

We tend to overlook professions without a degree, we take them for granted, even though they are essential to our economic system. A degree doesn’t measure your ability to work with children nor your empathy or your patience, but those skills are exactly what society needs today to be able to balance family and work.

That is why we have to “Start where our future grows“  (Tida).

Citations:

https://www.gew.de/aktuelles/detailseite/in-deutschland-fehlen-430000-kita-plaetze

https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/verbraucher/kita-personalmangel-106.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariaflynn/2023/11/02/us-child-care-crisis-is-holding-back-the-workforce/

https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage-the-scarce-and-costly-childcare-issue

https://www.iamexpat.de/education/education-news/german-schools-and-kindergartens-struggling-teacher-shortage-bites

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/09/us-early-education-kindergarten-access-problem/671379/

https://www.kindergartenakademie.de/fachwissen/kita-personalmangel/

https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2024/september-2024-the-parental-work-disruption-index.html

https://youtu.be/hBvswBKp4X0?si=9wKxSmeTmTKk50zs (Tru Doku)

https://youtu.be/_2NvljY6ps8?si=OFQ8ixQIAqaESqB9 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariagraciasantillanalinares/2024/10/18/work-hours-lost-by-the-millions-a-new-index-is-tracking-the-cost-of-the-childcare-crisis/

https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article253081876/Kindererziehung-Kita-Personal-faellt-haeufig-wegen-psychischer-Erkrankungen-aus.html