Pregnancy — set everything upyou are here

• • Mutterschutz: 6 weeks before + 8 after birth, full job protection from the day you announce
• • Mutterschaftsgeld: €13/day from your health fund + employer top-up to your full net
• • Book a Hebamme (midwife) EARLY — they are scarce
• • Plan both parents' Elterngeld months now; announce Elternzeit 7 weeks ahead
• • Foreign parents: get passports/birth documents with apostille + translation ready for the registry office

0–1 — the benefits year

• • Kindergeld €255/month per child — apply at the Familienkasse, up to 6 months retroactive
• • Elternzeit: each parent may pause the job up to 3 years (job-protected)
• • Unmarried? Acknowledge paternity (Vaterschaftsanerkennung) + joint-custody declaration BEFORE birth if possible
• • Child is FREE on statutory family health insurance
• • U-checks (U1–U6) — the yellow booklet matters for Kita later
• • Budget: first kit ≈ €2–3k, then ≈ €150–250/month

1–3 — Kita years

• • LEGAL RIGHT to childcare from age 1 (§24 SGB VIII) — apply months ahead, waitlists are real
• • Fees vary by city (Berlin free, elsewhere income-based); low-income/KiZ families often exempt
• • Childcare costs: 80% tax-deductible up to €4,800 — the tax form counts it
• • Kinderkrankentage: 15 paid sick-child days per parent per child (30 for single parents) + Kinderkrankengeld

3–6 — Kindergarten

• • Right to a Kindergarten place from age 3
• • Language support programs (Sprachförderung) — gold for bilingual kids; many states test German at ~4.5
• • U7–U9 checks; some states require proof for school enrolment
• • Pre-school year (Vorschule) varies by state

6–10 — Grundschule

• • School is COMPULSORY — also for newly arrived children, usually immediately
• • Enrolment (Einschulung) the autumn after the 6th birthday; first gear ≈ €200–350
• • Hort/OGS after-school care — apply with school enrolment
• • Benefit families: €195/year school package + free lunches & trips (BuT)
• • Year 4: the school-form recommendation — parents' weight differs by state

10–18 — the school fork

• • Gymnasium → Abitur (university track, 8–9 years)
• • Realschule → MSA (solid middle track, then Ausbildung or upper school)
• • Gesamtschule: all tracks in one house, decision later
• • Newcomer kids: Willkommensklasse (German-first class) → transfer to regular classes
• • From 15–16: Ausbildung = paid vocational training (€700–1,300/month) — a respected path, not a fallback
• • Schüler-BAföG possible from year 10 under conditions

18–25 — still supported

• • Kindergeld CONTINUES to 25 while in school/Ausbildung/university
• • Family health insurance stays free up to 25
• • BAföG up to €992/month (half grant) for students
• • Child counts on your taxes (Kinderfreibetrag) while in education