Facts about family care work

All in one:

Being a parent sounds to many people — and especially to childless couples and individuals — like lots of free time, cuddles and play. But there is much more to it: parents doing family care are also comforters, providers and household managers. They suddenly perform many jobs they were never trained for and are only supported at the start by parental allowance and childcare benefit.

Full-time job:

The working hours of parents who take care of everything themselves often amount to more than 70 hours a week — without a proper evening off. Many parents do this full-time job in addition to a part‑time position, and not everyone has the opportunity to share the workload with a partner.

Top salaries would be possible:

The full‑time job parents perform as part of family care is — apart from parental allowance and childcare benefit — unpaid. It is nevertheless interesting to see how much they would earn if they were paid for all their tasks. Adding together the average salaries of taxi drivers, nurses, cooks, etc. results in annual earnings of around €40,000 to €70,000 that parents would need to earn if they were paid for their family work.

Reward:

More than pay, mothers and fathers who stay at home after the birth receive a unique reward. Even if you often feel that you and your work are underestimated: watching your own child grow up, building a close relationship with them and being able to have a significant influence on their development is certainly a privilege — and your children’s smiles will surely make you forget many hardships.

Family work: who does what?

The topic of family work repeatedly attracts research interest and shows how expectations and reality often diverge when tasks are divided. A study on the division of tasks between family and work shows that a large proportion of families decide that the father works full time while the mother initially takes on the family work and later returns to her original profession part time.

Possible reasons for this include the partners’ financial situation, their positions at work or the mother’s stronger desire to stay with her children. However, the number of mothers who return to work soon after birth — including in full time — is rising.

Parental allowance & childcare benefit: support for family work

To support parents who raise their young children at home, the state provides financial assistance. However, a direct comparison with the salary mothers and fathers would earn if they continued in their original jobs should not be made.

Parental allowance:

Parental allowance was introduced in Germany following the Scandinavian model. You can apply for parental allowance for up to 14 months after the birth. It is calculated based on your income before the birth and is intended as an income replacement to secure your livelihood while you care for your child. Both mothers and fathers who take parental leave can apply for parental allowance, but they must then share the funding period between them.

Childcare benefit:

Childcare benefit has been a matter for the federal states since 2015. For this reason you should check whether and how much you are entitled to in your federal state. Parents who want to raise their child at home even after parental leave — but at the latest until the child’s third birthday — without using public childcare services may be entitled to childcare benefit. This is paid for a maximum of 22 months.

Household work: also for childless couples and singles

It is perfectly reasonable to think that parental allowance and childcare benefit only provide a small compensation for the work carried out. However, a more critical view of the situation is also possible.

Without devaluing the work mothers and fathers do caring for their own children, family work also includes the household tasks that arise. These would still have to be done without children — albeit to a somewhat lesser extent. Washing clothes, vacuuming, shopping and organising the household are unpaid tasks that must also be done by singles and childless couples. They do not get paid for them either.

Image credits

Mother works from home with her toddler © nataliealeb - stock.adobe.com