Because freerides are not only a cost and an annoyance, but also a socially awkward thing. Btw, ask yourself why Zurich and Switzerland in general is a generally well-off country? Free riding is not a thing…when we used to get “child benefits” back when we were in Basel it was slightly over CFH 200 per child per month. This merely covered diapers or my beer for a week. Good times, I was drunk and had a shitty baby 
It’s a well-off country with a very low birth rate. And a very high rate of kids born to mothers, who were born outside of Switzerland.
But I agree. If you have lack of teachers and lack of schools and kindergartens, if a single person can block the construction of a new KiGa on the school yard for years, so that kids have to learn in containers instead, maybe the kids are indeed not a priority in this country? Why stimulate couples to have kids if you don’t have enough infrastructure and teaching staff?
The costs of after-school care in “Hort” (and before-school i.e. one hour before the school starts, and in-between school i.e. during that lunch brake in primary) is determined by the family’s income. If you’re in the highest bracket (and it is not difficult, in our town is above 140k) you pay more. If you’re OK financially, you pay more per month. In kindergarten, which is free indeed, everyone used Tagesmutter as we didn’t have any facility for the lunch break (and she gets a salary paid by you and the parents of the other kids). Swiss moms used to stay at home till the child went to the primary school at least when we moved here.
Anyway, if you’re a normal person meaning not on social benefits or whatever, yes, I agree it is not cheap. And in some places, as there aren’t sufficient places in KiTA etc, not only is expensive, but it’s a pita logistically too as you have to find a place somewhere else.
Have no idea, again, it depends on the families income. The only help you get here is those 200 chf per child till the child is 16.
correct. While KiTA stands for Kindertagesstätte, which is not free afaIk. That’s for kids before Kindergarten. Seems to get mixed up on this thread.
Are they? I lived in this bubble where you don’t get anything for free and nobody cares about you anyway so I always thought it’s just normal. 
I invested in my kids, the school/canton, name it as you wish, did the bare minimum.
A good start will be to make KG and School full day programmes. Have them finish at 4pm with integrated after school care until 6pm.
The current system where kids go to school just until 12pm is just a waste of everybody’s time.
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There is already such a thing but it costs! And it’s “cheap” only for lower income families. Which is funny, because every child gets the same thing - same meal etc.
Why aren’t schools run like a business? In session 52 weeks a year, kids and staff gets 6 weeks leave at their discretion. Hours ftom 8:30 to 17.
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Some are.