FAMILY AND CHILDREN
FAMILY PLANNING AND BIRTH
The birth of a child involves many changes. There are various services in the Schaffhausen region that can prepare you for this step and provide support after the birth. Every birth must be registered with the City of Schaffhausen Registry Office. If the child is born in a hospital the hospital will register the birth. If the baby is born at home, the midwife is obliged to register the child. The midwife provides pregnant women, women giving birth and new mothers with expert advice and offers continuous care from pregnancy, through birth, to the end of post-natal period.
BECOMING A PARENT
Bringing up children is a demanding job. Parents frequently ask themselves what the best thing is for their child. Living in a new environment brings additional challenges for families. They need more knowledge to guide them. Dialogue with other parents can be very useful.
There is a wide choice for parents who chat to other parents or who want to take part in activities with their child. Some services are specifically geared to bringing Swiss and foreign parents into contact. There are also specialist advice centres that can help parents with questions concerning their child’s upbringing, development and health.
RAISING CHILDREN, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
In Switzerland, basic insurance covers eight paediatric medical examinations to check the child’s development in the first four years of life. At the same time, the Mothers’ and Fathers’ Counselling Centre is on hand to provide parents with assistance and advice. With issues relating to the development and raising of your children, or in the event of problems at school, you can contact the various advisory centres that will look for solutions together with you.
SUPPORT AND EDUCATION OUTSIDE OF THE FAMILY
Various services to supplement and support families are available in the canton of Schaffhausen. They range from counselling centres to babysitting services, mother and toddler groups and playgroups, to child day-care centres and crèches. Make use of these services! They give your children the opportunity to make contact for the first time with other children and give you a good chance to get to know other families.
Support services to supplement family and other services
Support services in Schaffhausen to supplement families include child day-care centres (KiTa), childminders, after-school day-care centres for schoolchildren and lunch clubs. Depending on requirements, the children are looked after there all day or for a few hours. All services are subject to a fee. In some municipalities, the institutions are subsidised. Your municipality will inform you about the services offered in the area nearby and about sharing the cost.
Playgroups
At playgroups, children are encouraged to develop their linguistic and social skills in a fun way before they start kindergarten. The playgroup is usually held twice a week for 2 to 4 hours. The Schaffhausen playgroups have very diverse orientations; there are, for instance, groups that meet in the forest or on the farm or who have a special focus on developing language.
Mother-child/father-child/parent-child gymnastics
The mother-child/father-child/parent-child gymnastics is aimed at parents with young children aged between 3 and 5. Health and agility are promoted in a fun way during the shared gymnastics sessions.
ACQUISITION OF LANGUAGE
Many parents are unsure in what language they should communicate with their children in the new environment. Current findings prove that parents should talk to their children in their first language (mother tongue) and should also cultivate this language. At the same time, parents can support their children in acquiring the language around them. This primarily means that you should make it possible for your children to have contact with other children and should register them, for instance, with a playgroup or child day-care centre.
OFFERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The canton of Schaffhausen champions the concerns of young people. The specialist Child and Youth Development department links the municipalities and youth work associations. They support these with information and advice. The city of Schaffhausen and other municipalities support young people through youth work.