13 Characteristics of kindergartens and day care centers around the world that many parents don’t even imagine

In each country, children are taught under different conditions. And this is not just about raising a family. There is also a great distinction in the teaching structure of children’s institutions and in the method in which the little ones are treated. This is noticeable in some moments of everyday life, in the rules, in the routine and in the classroom. Sometimes the differences are quite evident and, in some cases, barely noticeable. But they are especially noticed by parents who moved with preschool children from one country to another.

We, from awesome.club, we love to compare the characteristics of life in different parts of the world, and now we decided to do this based on the experience of mothers and fathers who experienced a real culture shock when placing their children in kindergartens abroad. Remembering that this is just their personal opinion based on their experiences, and may differ from other people’s experience. Follow!

In kindergartens in Germany, children are mixed by age in groups. In the courtyard, everyone walks and plays together and the employees are divided throughout the playground, where each one takes care of their own area. It is allowed to leave the territory of the escolinha and walk around the area with an educator. For this, carts with several seats are used, and those who already walk quickly can keep up on foot.

One user from the Pikabu infotainment community described his experience: “Germans are more relaxed with young children, and it’s not like they’re going to break any moment🇧🇷 Did you get the outfit dirty? No problem. Did you eat sand? It will come out the way it came in. Cleaning is done by the cleaners at the end of the working day, but if the child has made a mess, he will have to clean up what he has done. German kindergartens also take privacy seriously. When registering a child, parents will have to sign a bunch of paperwork: who can pick them up, whether they can use their photo, whether to call a doctor for them, and so on. The available equipment is also impressive and it’s not just about toys, bicycles and musical instruments. How about a sauna in kindergarten? In Germany this is a common practice, even in very deprived areas”.

Generally, there is no exact time to drop off children: the kindergarten opens at 6am, but you have to drop them off before 9am. When the little ones arrive, a breakfast awaits them: cereal, rolls, jam, sausage, hard-boiled eggs and much more. Everyone chooses on their own what to eat and drink. The main thing is to learn to serve yourself. The educators only observe and help if something doesn’t work out, always remembering the need to wash their hands. The older children are tasked with helping the younger ones and new arrivals. And they are actively commended for their support. After breakfast, the kids are free to do whatever they want, like playing and reading books.

Read what an immigrant mother wrote about a kindergarten in Germany below: “They walk and play in any weather. Rain or wind, it doesn’t matter, the important thing is to stay at least 40 minutes in open environments. When it rains, nobody uses an umbrella, just rubber boots and a raincoat of the simplest kind. A runny nose is not a cold, but a normal body reaction. If you go to the doctor because of this, he, at most, will prescribe nasal saline and look at you with judgmental eyes”.

In the summer, when the weather is nice, the youngest children eat in the courtyard and are outside all day except nap time. They sleep on mattresses in the same room where they play. Before going to bed, children listen to a fairy tale and are taught to brush their teeth on their own. Those who don’t want to sleep or can’t fall asleep go to a special little place to read silently and draw.

The relaxed and relaxed environment of German kindergartens is very different from what many are used to in their countries, and the following story illustrates this well: “Once, a Russian colleague traveled to Germany, as she knew the language well. German and get a job as a teacher. But she was used to the teaching system applied in Soviet day care centers, with strict hours for everything. Good thing she had a former compatriot who advised her on this, saying that had lost his job because of his teaching method different from German🇧🇷

The child can already be placed in day care from one year old, and there are no requirements for this🇧🇷 She doesn’t even have to talk or use the potty on her own, which is understandable given her young age. In the first days, the baby adapts and visits the place with the mother for one or two hours a day, then he continues going for the same amount of time, but without the mother’s company. After that, the little one will get used to staying longer and longer in the school, until gradually staying the whole day.

A mother who moved to Sweden shared her experiences: “Educators are mostly women in their 30s and 50s, but there are usually interns and part-time substitute staff who are sometimes men. I’m impressed, as I’m not used to men wiping the runny noses of other people’s children, but this is normal here. At the entrance to the kindergarten, the shoes are removed and placed in the shoe racks and, as soon as the child arrives, participates in a program on tablet🇧🇷 When you leave, your departure is also registered”.

There is a strict schedule in French kindergartens: little ones must be delivered from 8:20 am to 8:40 am. Also, only parents of younger children can enter. The older children, on the other hand, are left by those responsible at the entrance of the educational institution and are then received by the employees. If the parents are late and the gates are already closed, the child will not be allowed in that day.🇧🇷 Teachers specialize by age and teach a new group every year. Thus, one leads the younger group, the other teaches the middle class, and the third educates the older group.

Educators communicate with each other, spend breaks together, and all children know them. Therefore, the transition to a new class is not stressful at all. At the end of each year, parents receive an album full of printed photos of birthdays, holidays, trips, drawings and images of children’s work that was done throughout the year. All this is completely free.

This is what the mother of one child, who lives in Paris, commented: “Educating men are not uncommon here. Of the six teachers in our kindergarten, two were men. The children loved them and their parents respected them. In the younger group, we had an interesting initiative. As they are very young and it is difficult for a three-year-old child to go without eating for a long time between breakfast and lunch, so every day, snacks were brought by parents for everyone🇧🇷 This was done in the following way: there were reminders hanging with the dates previously warning who would be in charge of the day. In this way, different national foods were encouraged and children were still young and encouraged to try different flavors. On average, this happened once every two months per family. Some cooked it themselves, while others just bought it.”

Paid maternity leave in the Netherlands lasts only four months, one month of which must be used before the planned date of birth. Therefore, most babies go to day care a few times a week as early as three months old🇧🇷 All kindergartens in the Netherlands are private and paid. The cost depends on the specific institution, but there are no cheaper options than seven euros per hour, and this is usually a significant expense for the family budget. Children attend it until they are four years old. Right after the fourth year of life, they can start school, which is free, without the need to wait for the start of the school year.

In many kindergartens, it is not common to offer meals, only snacks. One Pikabu user shared his experience about this: “During the day, children only eat sandwiches, fruits, yogurts and other snacks. Don’t worry about the babies, they are given formula or breast milk in bottles on a regular basis. For the Dutch themselves, this is not a problem: from childhood they are used to snacking for lunch and to make more complete meals for dinner. However, immigrants do not have this custom. That is why more and more kindergartens are now switching to full lunches. If not every day, then at least two to three times a week. Providing meals at lunchtime, of course, directly affects the budget, since in this case it is necessary to provide a full kitchen together with employees”.

Payment for kindergarten depends on the number of hours required by parents. For example, 170 hours per month costs approximately 300 euros. There are several groups for children of different ages, from nine months to five years. Every day there is a special activity🇧🇷 For example, sports, drama club and reading children’s literature. The rooms, as in many European countries, are connected to the playroom, but children under one year old sleep in special low cribs that reduce the risk of falling.

A Russian mother who moved to Finland described her experience this way: “There are 13 people in my daughter’s group, along with two educators and a nanny. Also, if they feel the need, they can call in an additional caregiver to help. In the kitchen, only simple foods are prepared, such as sandwiches and drinks, the rest is brought ready-made from other locations and heated. For lunch, for example, there is salmon soup. A delight! And for the smallest, the food is crushed and offered as puree”.

The photo shows a father dressed as a devil performing a ceremony at the annual festival, called Setsubun, which marks the eve of the onset of spring in Japan.

The main condition for admission to Japanese preschool institutions is that both mother and father work. If you are not working, then raise your children at home. Maternity leave lasts no more than a year, and there are fewer women in Japan willing to leave work forever for the sake of the family. Us…