Dear ones, we all know that the demands and challenges facing nursery teachers have risen sharply. We also know that there is a huge staff shortage in this sector. Our reader Christina was a childcare worker for many years, but at some point realised that she could no longer do it. Now she’s retraining. Here’s her full story.
Dear Christina, you were a nursery school teacher for many years. Why did you choose this profession back then?
Before I decided to become an educator, I worked as a shop assistant for 13 years. As the working hours in this area were mainly in the afternoon and on Saturdays and were also very inflexible, I wanted to change careers and choose a job that was more compatible with having children and a family.
My (now adult) son has ADHD and needed 1:1 support with many things in his everyday life at home and we had appointments for occupational therapy, behavioural therapy and learning therapy in the afternoons.
As my child also attended a daycare centre, I came into contact with a lot of nursery teachers and these conversations gave me the idea of becoming a nursery teacher myself. At that time (2010), there was a huge demand for nursery teachers. So it was a job with good prospects.
What kind of organisations have you worked in and how have the requirements for nursery teachers changed over the years?
I have worked in three different daycare centres, including as an integration educator. Support plans had to be created in detail with dates, times and support goals – regardless of whether I was able to offer a support programme at all on Monday at 10 a.m. due to a lack of staff, for example, or whether the child in question wanted it.
Parents‘ meetings had to be recorded, which was particularly difficult for people with no knowledge of German. I often had to use the Google translator on my mobile phone.
How have the children changed over the years – and why do you think these changes take place?
It was definitely the case that more and more children were showing developmental delays and behavioural problems, as well as more and more parents with no knowledge of German – and all of this had to be dealt with by far too few staff.
I think that the increase in behavioural problems in children is due to the fact that most parents (have to) work full-time. There is less and less time together as a family and when there is, many parents are exhausted from their jobs and their daily challenges. In addition, the state suggests to parents (keyword: all-day care) that all responsibility can be handed over to daycare centres and schools.
I have observed that many parents today lack an instinctive feeling for what (their) children need. Children are often treated like babies until primary school and are not allowed to be independent. Teachers in daycare centres and schools then have to make up for all of this.You also worked as an integration educator. Can you tell us more about that?I worked as an inclusion teacher in a small daycare centre and had an inclusion child who attended our daycare centre from the age of 2.5 to 5. This boy had very behavioural problems. The parents were in contact with the SPC early on and ASD was suspected. During the entire time at our daycare centre, however, there was no diagnosis that the doctors could confirm.
The boy had violent tantrums every few minutes, during which he screamed loudly, swept toys off the shelves and threw chairs across the room. During meals, his plate was thrown on the floor and children near him were then bitten or hit.
As an inclusion teacher, I was always with him so that I could be there immediately, so I was often bitten too. I always had to take the child out of the situation, as the screaming was very distressing and the other children also had a right to protection.I always took the boy to a quiet corner or an empty room until he calmed down. He then needed attention and could never say why he was behaving like that. These tantrums came out of nowhere. There were only very few moments when my colleagues or I could take action beforehand to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Since I was always with or near the child, my colleagues had to look after the other children on their own or organise activities. Especially when I had to leave the room with the child. This 1:1 care wasn’t even included in the staffing ratio; officially, I was also responsible for all the other children in the daycare centre.
When and how did you realise that you could no longer work in this profession?Two years ago, I realised that the workload was becoming too much and that I wouldn’t be able to do this job until I retired. I also had another child, so I wanted a job with a home office option so that I didn’t have to leave my child in care for too long too soon.
How did you feel after you left your job?
In January 2024, I read about an interesting training programme and was actually accepted. As my last daycare centre closed in July 2024, I gave my notice and started my new apprenticeship on 1 August 2024. That made it a lot easier for me to leave, because I would have had to change daycare centres anyway. But I was also really looking forward to the new phase of my career.
How have you reorganised your career now?
I am currently completing the preparatory service in the intermediate non-technical administrative service (civil service career path) in the federal administration.
What do you like about your new job?
What I like about my new job is the peace and quiet, the areas of responsibility, which I have already been able to familiarise myself with in three different internships, and the very flexible working hours with up to three days a week in the home office.
What have you learnt from all of this?
I’ve learnt to pull the ripcord and think about myself and my needs. I have experienced colleagues who have taken their excessive demands out on the children and I didn’t want to let it get that far. I’ve also greatly expanded my ability to reflect, as this is a cornerstone of educational work. This benefits me in many situations in life.
