I have been searching through all of the post regarding nurserys which take babies from 3 months old but cant find what I am looking for. I am due in October, and plan to take 4 months for maternity care after little un arrives and thought it wise to start looking now.
I really would like to know aprox. cost of places in the Basel area, so that I can then narrow down on who to contact in the first instance.
I actually visited the Home from Home nursery yesterday, and although very nice, I was shocked to discover that for 2 days childcare (what I am looking for) I would be looking at CHF 920! Dont really want to work for a deficit!
Does anyone know of any informaiton on costs etc for child care as for most links I have looked at they are not advertised on the actual site? I would have no problem with leaving little un in Swiss Day care, but was wondering what was the price comparison between Swiss and English speaking centres?
Another thought would be to have a private day nanny but I suspect that the cost would be around the same, anyone with any experience of this?
One last hope would be to use a nursery in France, St Louis area, as I know there is a large ex-pat community there also, and any known difficulties with organising this.
Mind you they are worth every penny and are fantastic with my babe
The other thing you could do is look to see if you qualify for any support from the state. I think if your combined income is less than 12000 per month they do help you. They pretty much pay half of the costs for me but I am on a single income so obviously well below 12000 per month
Just wanted to support the recommendation for www.kindergarden.ch . I think they are not completely full / may not have as long a waiting list as some other places for infants. We've really liked them.
You can also check with the Frauenberatung. They have a system of Tagesheim (daycares) all around town. It's on a sliding scale based on your income. My daughter went to the Tagesheim Annator in Kleinbasel for several years and they were fantastic. Might be a waiting list. Some of them give employees of certain companies a priority if they help subsidize the cost I think,
I don't get it - 110CHF a day is 330CHFs a week (because it's a minimum of 3 days at Kindergarden) = 1320CHF a month.
So, Mona (Home from Home) costs 940CHFs for a month..... so that's actually only 117CHFs a day.
Not much difference really.
My boys were both at Home from Home and had a brilliant time there. They've now both left and Mona still calls them on their birthdays to ask how they're doing
By the way we also looked at Kindergarden and it's lovely - we know people who have sent their kids there too.
But really, the prices for nurseries around Basel are much of a muchness, and the salary based method doesn't really work if you are a 2 income family (even a 100% + 50% wage) as this already takes you to the maximum for most ex-pat job holders.
I would also like to ask if anybody has experience with taking their child to a daycare across the border (in France or Germany). I know a German who lives near the border and crosses into Germany daily. In France I think there are both private creches as well as independent daycare workers.
Hello, I'm new to this site and just came across this thread. We will be moving to Basel in August 2016 from Germany. We have a 5 year old son and a baby due in June. So we would be looking for a Kindergarten spot and a daycare/nursery spot for the baby - probably around 7-8 months old.
I have heard that childcare is very expensive in Switzerland, with long waiting lists and that finding full-time/full-day childcare is a big challenge. Is this correct?
What do most people seem to do - a childcare center, a nanny, a Tagesmutter/in-home childcare, an au pair, etc.?
Any advice/recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!
Kindergarten for your big boy wil not be a problem because it belongs to school and it's compulsory. As soon as you have a place to live, your son will get a kindergarten spot in the neighbourhood. But be aware that kindergarten-school includes only the mornings from about 8:00 to 12:00 and about two afternoons - in the second year of kindergarten - for two hours. If you need more childcare, you'll have to apply for Hort (daycare) for the remaining hours. Prices for Hort depend on your income. Ask at the Gemeinde for help - some schools have a Mittagstisch - and they might help you with addresses for a Hort in the neighbourhood.
As for childcare, Home from Home is about 15CHF/hr, and they speak mainly English but there are carers who speak German. There are other places that may be less expensive, especially on a full time scale and speaking in German/Swiss German.
I think it makes the most sense to select the day care once you know where you'll live. If it's every day, perhaps you want to bike there or take the tram along your way to work/back home. Basel can feel like a big or small city depending on how you're set up with work, home, and the daily things to do.
Good luck with the big move! Everything is more expensive in CH, so consider living close to the German border to save money, esp on food. Seems to be part of the way of life for many Swiss residents/citizens.
Thank you both very much for your helpful advice! Yes, we are moving from Munich, Germany, now. We are definitely happy that Basel is so close to both the German and French borders. I can see lots of German Aldi runs in my future. It is indeed a bit shocking how expensive Switzerland is. My husband is Swiss and grew up in Bern, so he is used to it, but for me, I'm definitely a bit concerned about the higher cost of living all around.
I really appreciate the advice about Kindergartens, Hort, contacting the Gemeinde, and the recommendation of Home from Home. I'll definitely check it out.