hTTi

Greetings all, and thanks for setting up this replacement!

My wife is returning to work after having spent some years bringing up the kids. We need a big chunk of babysitting and other support, in particular because I am useless due to being disabled (Parkinson’s) and our youngest who is about to go to school has Autism. So we have quite a few challenges at the moment…

To be honest we would be grateful for any suggestions as to how to handle this situation, safely and healthily for the kids.

I’ve had luck in the past getting babysitters from the local PH, but there isn’t one here where we now live (Tübingen). There are on the other hand, thousands of students here, if we can only find the right ones….

It sounds as though you may need more than a local teenager to sit in your house and make sure it doesn't burn down, whilst you go out for a few hours of an evening every now and then (for which, I'd just advise to look to your neighbours. If one of them has a reasonably "sensible" baby sitting aged kid, ask them and always pay generously. The advantage is that you'll know/get to know each other's families and have a vested interest in getting on.)

In terms of more substantial help with the kids, there are lots of au pair agencies (google is your friend) if you have space for someone to live-in and need help getting the kids ready for school/homework after. However, due to your disability you may find that you are entitled to some help either from your Landkreis or Krankenkasse.

Just a thought…try contacting Sonderschule in your area. They might be able to point you in the right direction. Or even your local Schulamt. All the best.