Education expert warns

“Kindergartens are no substitute for family life!”

Vienna and Burgenland are the only federal states to offer free, all-year kindergarten.(Bild: 1001color - stock.adobe.com)

From October 1, 2024, free year-round kindergarten will be introduced in Burgenland to make it easier to combine work and family life - even during the vacations. Nevertheless, parents should not exhaust the maximum opening hours, warns renowned educational psychologist Christiane Spiel.

Mothers and fathers who work full-time and do not have a family network to look after their children in their absence are dependent on crèches and nurseries whose opening hours are compatible with their working hours. According to the Chamber of Labor, children must be able to be cared for "at least 45 hours per week for at least four days and 9.5 hours and at least 47 weeks per year" in appropriate educational and childcare facilities. In the last school year, 196,000 children across Austria were in this situation. That is 25,600 (plus 15 percent) more than a year ago.