report
2.4 billion euros from 2025: The federal government’s basic child security is not enough, criticize social organizations and clubs. Despite improvements, families have doubts about the hoped-for effect.
Yasmin Roob expected more from the agreement in the dispute over basic child security. The disappointment is great for the single mother of two children. She is sitting on the floor in her apartment in a prefab block on the outskirts of Stuttgart and is playing with her son. Din is one and a half years old and clings to a small blue car that he drives around the apartment from time to time. His sister is eleven years old and has holed up in her room. She does not want to talk about poverty and does not want to be named in this post.
The moving boxes are piling up in the Roobs’ apartment. They just moved here recently. She only comes to unpacking little by little, says Roob. The 36-year-old is studying social work near Stuttgart. With BAföG, child benefit and housing benefit, she gets around 2000 euros a month. That’s actually a lot of money, she says, but it’s still not enough.
Rising prices eat up the last buffer
The high rents in Stuttgart, the rising prices and the increasing costs for their older children quickly eat up the family’s income. At the end of the month, they have little to nothing left, says Roob. She has to do the math for every visit to an amusement park or outdoor pool. New clothes, a haircut or admission to the cinema are great luxuries for you and your children. “If I always have to think about how much money I have left, then of course it’s exhausting.”
In principle, she finds the basic child security scheme to be a good instrument. However, in the end more must reach the families than before.
“Just a small contribution”
Roman Jung is chairman and founder of the Stuttgart association “children first”. He takes care of children from socially disadvantaged families, like the Roobs. His association organizes excursions, events and club memberships at reasonable prices. Participation opportunities are to be created for children who otherwise have little opportunity to participate in normal life for financial reasons.
Jung emphasizes that he is clearly in favor of basic child security. More money helps more, he says. The 38-year-old also welcomes the fact that those affected should receive additional benefits more easily and without further complicated applications. However, 2.4 billion euros are far too little to combat poverty. “It’s a big sum when you first hear it. But with three million children affected by poverty in Germany, that’s only a small contribution.”
“It needs to be readjusted”
The German children’s charity also criticizes the federal government’s agreement on basic child security. “Basic child security is not the big hit that we had hoped for as a children’s rights organization,” says spokesman Uwe Kamp when asked by tagesschau.de.
It will be easier for families to receive benefits such as the child allowance by combining the applications. However, the problem of the insufficient amount of social benefits for children does not change. “We still have to make adjustments here,” the spokesman continued.
The desire to go to the cinema again
Your daughter hardly ever goes to the cinema. Recently she scraped together all her money for a ticket for her daughter. There wasn’t enough money to come along myself. She actually likes to go to the cinema. Be carefree, enjoy life, shop healthy for the kids. Yasmin Roob has many wishes for her life, she says. However, her dreams for her life have changed.
The Stuttgart native will probably benefit from the basic child security. In the future, she will automatically receive the child allowance. The new crediting regulations will probably also help her.
However, she does not yet know how much more she will get in the end. One thing is clear for the single parent: It will certainly not be much, given the small sum that has now been estimated by the federal government. Basic child security is not supposed to come into force until 2025, when Yasmin Roob and her children will realize whether they can finally live a little more carefree again.