Senftenberg closes the first daycare center: The region meets the decline in birth!

Senftenberg closes the first daycare center: The region meets the decline in birth!

in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, is a sad change: the "Froggi" daycare center will close at the end of July. With a load of only 54.3 percent of the 70 places available, the daycare center is no longer profitable. This is not an isolated case, but reflects the national trend: The decline in birth rate affects Germany, especially the eastern federal states, and has not only been a big topic since yesterday. Exactly that -tagschau- reported.

Social Director Alexander Erbert points out that the birth rate has declined in the past two years and have now reached the level of a decade ago. In 2023, 52 percent fewer children were born in East Germany than in 1990. Especially in the rural areas of Brandenburg, the birth rate has been falling for years, which is partly due to economic uncertainties and crises.

The daycare situation in Brandenburg

The closure of the "Froggi" daycare center is part of a major problem. The district currently looks after around 7,200 children in over 90 facilities, but the daycare requirements are regularly checked and adapted to the actual conditions every three months. For example, while a new daycare center is being planned in large tales in order to meet the needs of small citizens, the trend of decline is visible in many other communities in Germany.

In Berlin and Brandenburg, more and more daycare places are empty. As reported by the -RBB24-, there are, for example, 1,565 free places at urban carriers and another 7,215 places at freelancers. In Brandenburg, where there is no central overview, the availability of daycare centers is reported in some municipalities, but a clear overview is often missing.

The increase in choices for parents is also astonishing. Despite the increasing number of free places, the reality on site often looks very different: there are big differences between the districts. Some, such as Neukölln, fight with a lack of daycare places, while other regions such as Pankow can offer more space.

The challenge of personnel lack of personnel

not only the number of places is crucial; The shortage of skilled workers also troubles the daycare centers. According to Brandenburg in the cribs, Brandenburg has a childcare key from 1 to 4.25 and in kindergarten from 1 to 10. In many facilities, the teams feel the pressure because the educators are stressed and want more flexible handling of working hours. This is reinforced by a high level of sick leave in the industry.

The upcoming legal entitlement to all -day care for primary school children from August 2026 will have additional challenges for daycare centers. While parents could look forward to expanding the care offers, many facilities remain under pressure to maintain the current structures and at the same time to meet new standards. Looking back to the developments since the 1990s, it can be seen that demographic change will be left in our cities and villages in the next few years.