Definition
A crèche is a facility for the care of children under the age of three, who are therefore still too young for kindergarten. The term “Kita” (= day care center) is less clearly defined and can refer to any form of childcare, so it could stand for a crèche or a kindergarten or a combination of both. In the following, therefore, the term of the day care center is used.
What is a crèche?
The first crèches were designed to enable both parents to work full-time and were particularly widespread in the GDR. Today, the aspect of infant pedagogy is added, since the children are not only to be cared for at an early age, but also to be encouraged. The crèche is therefore intended to give parents time for their profession and additionally support the children in their development and prepare them for kindergarten and school.
The daily routine of the daycare center depends entirely on the age of the child. The youngest children from about 6 months are only given attention and care, the little ones have plenty of time for their meals and to sleep. Older children are provided with games and playful lessons and rest according to their age-dependent needs.
If high-quality care is provided, the day nursery has a positive influence on the child’s development and abilities and provides optimal preparation for the kindergarten and school years. Particular emphasis is placed on the promotion of social behavior and cognitive skills, in which crèche children are ahead of their peers and settle into kindergarten and school more quickly. However, if the daycare centers are overburdened, otherwise limited in their quality of care, or if the child spends more than 30 hours a week in the facility, problem behavior and other disorders can occur.
This is the case if educators change frequently, the children’s concentration is overstrained, the caregivers pursue different educational styles or the parents do not bring up the children to the same extent at home. It is therefore important to choose the right crèche with appropriate care for each child individually, so that the child only receives the advantages of this facility. The availability of childcare places varies greatly from region to region in Germany.
In the new federal states of the former GDR, the majority of small children attend a crèche, in western Germany hardly a third. In the east there is a lack of qualified personnel, in the west there is a lack of crèche places. Because of these problems, the entire daycare system is undergoing restructuring and in many places is part of political discussions.