Ms. Oswald, can you briefly describe what a family base is?
A family base is a contact point for families on all topics for children, parents, grandparents. People come to us with their questions and concerns and we refer them to the relevant specialist departments, including for issues such as pregnancy and childbirth. We have the Donum Vitae pregnancy counseling center in-house and work closely with them and with many other institutions. And we also organize lectures, a baby cafe, which is occasionally designed as a walk outside, as well as excursions and other leisure activities; we then work together with external specialists. The next lectures at the end of September are, for example, “My child – puberty – and I” or a hands-on lecture on how parents can make attending primary school stress-free.
What was your offer this year?
Due to the corona, we only started with online events, for example an information evening for parents from zero to six year olds, lectures on social skills for six to eleven year olds, school stress – we had very positive feedback from the parents about the five-part course, so that we will offer it again this year; there are still a few spaces left at the moment. Our two main topics this year were puberty and nutrition. For example, we had four online encouragement evenings for parents of young people on topics such as communication, personal responsibility and letting go. And when it came to nutrition, we held various events with nutritionists and handed out cooking bags. Packed month by month with other seasonal ingredients and a recipe, as well as a suggestion for families to eat together, such as a picnic, and inside the chef’s bag were tips for suitable places. In May we also organized a spring festival with the food rescuers from Olching on the Geschwister-Scholl-Platz.
Which people come to you?
We now have quite a wide range. I’ve phoned grandmothers, young people and parents with older children. It’s often about puberty, and families with a migration background often come to us, migration was an issue. People just come by and if I don’t have an appointment, they can tell me their concerns directly. Recently someone came with a question about child benefit, and I was able to help him right away.
How are you staffed?
All nine family bases have one manager, there are two of us in Fürstenfeldbruck, with Christina Siedl as manager. And we also have an attractive pool of freelancers, that’s about ten people, mostly women, mainly from the fields of pedagogy or adult education.
Today, Friday, you are celebrating the five-year anniversary at the family base at Am Sulzbogen 56. What is planned for the festival?
Visitors can come by between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., whatever the weather, because we are allowed to fill the whole building with life. The game rental from the district office is there with lots of games and a volunteer who can explain them, Jasmin Pongratz offers creative offers around the picture book “Frederick” by Leo Lionni and then comes Patrick Kasyrie with Ugandan drums and an offer to participate. No previous knowledge is necessary and a good mood is guaranteed. We had already booked it for our Advent hut last year, and it was very well received. We want to offer something next year with him and an occupational therapist who is a professional in African dance; we want to call it “drums and African dances for the whole family”. And of course there is also something to eat, homemade vegetable fries from Andrea Larcher and Asnat, an eleven-year-old who often stays with us at the family base, brings home-baked muffins.