Childcare by age group

An external page Au Pair (German) lives with the host family and looks after one or more of the family’s children. An au pair’s tasks can also include light housework. In return, the au pair receives board and lodging as well as pocket money. Au pairs are usually from an area where a different language is spoken and attend a language school. The host parents often pay a substantial percentage of the school fees.

external page Information on Au Pairs by the City of Zurich (German)

external page Pro Filia (German) | external page Compagna (German) | external page Liliput

external page Childminders (German) look after one child or more children in their own home, with the hours being individually agreed. Childminders are experienced in childcare. Placements are arranged by the Gemeinnützigen Frauenverein Zürich, Zurich Women’s Association, or external page GFZ (German), which carefully selects childminder families and provides them with professional support.

The City of Zurich’s department for foster children is responsible for supervising childminders with whom children spend more than 20 hours a week.

Nannies look after one or more children in private households and generally carry out easy household tasks, too. Nannies generally have teaching qualifications or experience of working with children, for which they can provide references. The external page kihz Foundation (kihz Mobil) maintains a pool of qualified nannies.

external page Information on Nannys by the City of Zurich (German)

Nanny agency  external page overview (German) | external page Liliput (German)

In reciprocal childcare, parents share the task of caring for their children. Two families agree to look after each other’s children, which means neither family incurs any childcare costs.

external page Chrabbelgruppe (German) groups help parents to make contacts and share experiences. They provide an opportunity for mothers and fathers to get to know other parents in similar situations, learn from one another and offer one another support outside of meetings. At the same time, the children come into contact with their peers, learn how to interact in a group setting and get used to other people and a new environment.

A external page Chinderhüeti (German) is a facility bookable by the hour where which children of various ages are looked after on an ad hoc basis in groups, freeing up the parents briefly to do their shopping or attend appointments. While a Chinderhüeti is useful for meeting very short-term, occasional childcare needs, it is not a good way to ensure a healthy work/life balance.

Chinderhüeti at external page Zentrum Elch (City of Zurich) (German)

Chinderhüeti at external page Quartierhaus Kreis 6 (Langmauerstrasse 7, 8006 Zürich) (German)

A playgroup provides the opportunity for pre-school children (between 2.5 and the age at which they start kindergarten) to play together in a group of around 4 to 12, enabling them to develop social and language skills at an early age. The facility is normally used 1 to 3 times a week in 2.5-hour blocks and is usually regarded as a form of socio-cultural development rather than childcare.

external page Swiss Association of Playgroup Leaders (German)

Förderung ("external page Playgroup plus") focus, in particular, on developing language skills (German)

Out-of-school clubs offer childcare outside normal or compulsory school hours. Out-of-school clubs are run by professional staff who have gained qualifications in social work at a university of applied sciences or teaching qualifications at the Agogis PET college. The City of Zurich and the municipal authorities are gradually increasing the number of out-of-school club places available.

A external page Mittagstisch (lunch table, German) offers children of school age the option of spending lunch time together and eating a low-cost meal. As well as on the food, the emphasis is on age-appropriate care provided by carers who hold pedagogical qualifications. Lunch time care is provided by the City of Zurich’s department responsible for schools and sports.

external page Mittagstisch city of Zurich (German)

Find out more about the school system at the Welcome Center.