Kita or Tagesmutter for two children

[WallE 5]

I moved to Berlin together with my family a few weeks ago. Both me and my wife are EU citizens, but we used to live in the UK prior to coming to Germany. I'm already employed in Berlin and my wife should start working on the 1st of September. We have two children aged 1 and a half and 4 and a half and besides finding something suitable for long-term rent, getting childcare for kids is our biggest worry at the moment.

 

Since we expect to be at work full-time come September, there's probably a little chance we'll get a place in a state-run Kita right from the start. We are applying for places, but I assume that we won't be that lucky. I am now interested in private Kitas or hiring a Tagesmutter, but don't know where to start. I could contact local Jugendamt and ask whether they have a list of private childcare providers and I'm also going to google for private Kitas in our area. Is there anything else I could do?

Our older offspring speaks English, Czech and French but no German. I'm not sure if applying for an international Kita increases our chances or not. Also, the older one needs to learn some German before going to school, so perhaps it's better to look for German-only Kitas.

 

I know that this is an extremely short period to find something, but the pressure on both me and my wife to start working very soon was high - both our job offers were presented as 'either this start date or nothing' to us. We were not able to negotiate a later start date that would allow us to properly settle first. We have registered our residency in Berlin (Anmeldung) and applied for a Kita-Gutschein. In the meantime, we are willing to pay if necessary and wait for a place in a state-run Kita.

My second question concerns summer in Berlin. My wife is at home with kids and it would be great for both her and the little ones if they could socialize a bit. Do you know about any activities where moms with children meet (for example in a park) for coffee and play? Our son just spent a week in a summer language school to get introduced to German, but is back at home now. We are located in the south of Berlin, anything in Mariendorf, Marienfelde, Lichtenrade, Tempelhof or Schoeneberg would probably be fine.

 

Thank you for any advice that would help us sort this out.

[kiplette 8,675]

Do you have space for someone to live in? 

 

If so, you could think about a nanny or an aupair. There are various agencies available if you google, although I have no recommendations to make, maybe someone will come on with personal knowledge.

 

I suppose you want something flexible because an actual kiga place in a German speaking setting would be the ideal outcome, and when that comes you need to get the kids in quick.

[WallE 5]

We're unfortunately only renting short-term and are looking for something more permanent. The current place is OK, but not really big enough to house another person.

We would have taken a long-term right away if that possibility existed, but renting from abroad without Anmeldung, Schufa and a ton of other papers was just not possible - we tried but failed. We had to take a 'Wohnen auf Zeit', do the paperwork and we're searching for both a flat and Kita now. I'm starting to think that we'll first have to find a Kita and flat location will depend on that.

 

We applied for Kita-Gutschein less then 2 months before September 1st (date when we need to have kids in childcare) simply because we haven't been in Germany long enough to respect the deadline. There was a possibility to ask for an exception due to recent 'Zuzug nach Berlin' in the application form, but everywhere I look I see 2 months deadline - another source of worries.

[Santitas 587]

Private Kitas are just as difficult as public Kitas to find a spot. If you try a bilingual Kita state that you don’t speak German at home. This enables the Kita to get more funding and might make them more inclined to squeeze your kids in.
 

Also, I recently heard of a new Kita at Beuth Hochschule opening up. They have 130 free spots, so maybe that’s worth checking out. They’re located in Wedding.