Against the law?

Boy has to go home after two hours at kindergarten

Maria W. and her son Sebastian in front of their apartment in the 23rd district. The boy would like to stay longer in kindergarten, but is not allowed to.(Bild: zVg)

Because Sebastian W. needs extra care, he is sent home from kindergarten at 9am. This plunges the family into financial hardship. 

A child with ADHD not only poses an additional challenge in everyday life, but also brings with it considerable financial burdens due to cost-intensive therapies. In the case of the W. family, the situation is particularly precarious. Sebastian is placed in an integration group in the kindergarten at Lastenstraße 15 in the 23rd district.

The kindergarten at Lastenstraße 15 operates in shifts.(Bild: Zwefo)

But only for two hours a day, between 7am and 9am. "We also made an agreement that the kindergarten would call me if my child could stay longer, but that only happened once," says Maria W., who has two other children.

Alexander likes going to kindergarten and would like to stay longer, which is currently not possible for him. I find this situation discriminatory.

Maria W.

Father can't go to work
Due to this short childcare period, her husband cannot go to work and the family of five has to get by on one salary. There have already been several discussions with the local teachers, but this has achieved little. As a result, the 41-year-old contacted the Children's Advocate's Office and learned that, according to the Early Intervention Act, children in the compulsory kindergarten year must be looked after for at least 20 hours a week, but Sebastian only gets half that time. "We feel discriminated against," says W.

And what does the responsible MA 10 department say? "Teachers accompany children carefully as they develop in their first educational institution. Sometimes it is only possible for children to spend time in a larger group for a certain period of time." Little consolation for the family.