In short and in plain language
Childminders look after young children in their own home or in their own rooms. There are fewer of them every year. So parents first ask: is there a free place?
Your website needs a small box with your free places. It says when a place is free, for which age and on which days. It also shows the date when you last checked it.
Show your rooms and toys, but no children. For photos of children, you usually need the parents to agree. Your full address is only in the legal notice. Parents get directions with the invitation to the first meeting.
Write down which license you have from the youth office and which courses you took. Then parents can see at once that everything is in order.
We build websites for childminders. If you like, we show you how to change the free places yourself.
Imagine a childminder taking the third call of the week on a Monday evening: a family is looking for a place from the spring for their child, who will turn one by then, and the first question is whether anything is available at all. The honest answer is one place in March, mornings only. Had exactly that sentence, with a date, been on the website, the call would have been shorter, and the families for whom it does not fit would not have needed to call at all. Free places in childminding are scarce and change often: on March 1, 2026, there were 34,200 childminders in publicly funded childminding in Germany, 3,200 or 8.6 percent fewer than a year earlier, the sixth decline in a row (Destatis). They looked after 131,400 children (Destatis). This article shows how a childminder's website displays free places with a date, which pages parents read before the first call, how to present your license and training in plain terms, and why rooms and toys belong in the photos while children and directions to the front door do not.
Key takeaways
- On March 1, 2026, there were 34,200 childminders in publicly funded childminding in Germany, 8.6 percent fewer than a year earlier (Destatis). An availability notice with a date answers the parents' first question before they pick up the phone.
- An availability indicator states the start date, age group, hours of care and when the information was last checked. Checking it once a month and showing full places openly as full brings inquiries that match the places you actually have.
- The childminding license covers up to five non-related children present at the same time and is limited to five years (Section 43(3) SGB VIII). License, qualification course and pediatric first aid belong in plain terms on the About me page.
- Photos of children generally require consent (Section 22 KUG), and children merit specific protection of their personal data (GDPR, Recital 38). Photos of the play corner, garden and dining table show daily life without making any child recognizable.
- The inquiry form asks only for the child's month of birth, the desired start, the hours needed and the neighborhood. Allergies and other health details are health data (Art. 9(1) GDPR) and belong in the first meeting.
- In publicly funded childminding, parents can be charged fees (Section 90(1) SGB VIII). The website explains how to apply and points to the local authority's fee rules instead of listing prices of its own.
Why parents ask about free places first
The number of childminders has been falling for years. On March 1, 2020, publicly funded childminding in Germany still counted 44,782 of them (Destatis); on March 1, 2026, only 34,180 (Destatis), just under a quarter fewer in six years. The press release of the Federal Statistical Office rounds the current figure to 34,200 and notes that it fell for the sixth year in a row, while staff in daycare centers rose slightly to 799,500 (Destatis). Men made up 4.6 percent of childminders (Destatis). This article still means both throughout: childminding mothers and fathers alike.
On the other side, demand is high. In the childcare study of the German Youth Institute, an annual survey of about 33,000 parents (DJI), 65 percent of parents of one-year-olds and 82 percent of parents of two-year-olds wanted a place in a daycare center or with a childminder in 2024 (DJI). In western Germany, almost one in four families with a one- or two-year-old used no place despite needing one, namely 23 percent, compared with 9 percent in eastern Germany (DJI). On March 1, 2026, the childcare rate for children under three stood at 37.2 percent (Destatis), at 34.1 percent in the western states (Destatis) and at 53.5 percent in the eastern states including Berlin (Destatis).
The law sets the pace for families' planning. A child who has completed the first year of life is entitled to early childhood support in a daycare facility or in childminding until the third birthday (Section 24(2) SGB VIII). State law can also require parents to notify the youth welfare office within a set period before the care is to start (Section 24(6) SGB VIII). So the search begins long before the first day of care, and the question about a free place comes months before a place actually opens up.
The youth welfare office informs parents about the places available in their area and advises them on their choice (Section 24(6) SGB VIII). Parents who also search on their own type the German word for childminder and their neighborhood into a search engine and land on your page. That is where the family decides whether to call, send a message or keep looking. If the home page says when a place opens up and for whom, inquiries fit your free times better. If it says nothing, every family calls, including those for whom it does not fit.
The availability indicator: free places with a date
An availability indicator is a small box near the top of the home page. It answers four questions: When does a place open up? For which age? For how many hours, mornings only or into the afternoon? And when was the information last checked? The date is the key part. "One place currently free" reads like a false statement three months later. "Updated October 30: one place from March" stays correct even if the box has not been touched for a few weeks, because everyone can see how old the information is.
| Status | What the page says | What parents do next |
|---|---|---|
| Place free | "From March 1, 2027, one place for a child under three, mornings" with the date of the last check | Ask to meet and arrange a visit |
| Place expected | "Probably one place from the summer, waiting list open" | Join the waiting list and state the desired start and hours |
| All places taken | "Currently full, next change expected in the fall" | Join the list for later or ask the youth welfare office's advisory service about other places |
The information has to match your license. The childminding license covers up to five non-related children present at the same time, and in individual cases fewer (Section 43(3) SGB VIII). If you split one place between two part-time children, "one place for Monday to Wednesday" is better than just "one place free", because "free" on its own leaves open whether five days are meant. The same applies to age: "for a child from the first birthday" is clearer than "toddler place".
A date instead of "currently"
Also report free places to the advisory service of your youth welfare office, which informs parents about available places. The website does not replace that route, it adds to it: parents who get your name from the youth welfare office can look up who you are and what your days look like before they call. How free places can be shown clearly in a completely different line of work is covered in our article on the website for dog trainers.
Which pages a childminding website needs
Childminding is a small service, and the website can stay small too. Six sections cover what parents want to know before a visit. Whether that becomes six subpages or one long home page with sections depends on how much you write; our article One page or several pages weighs the options.
Home page with availability
One sentence on who you are and in which neighborhood you work, then the availability indicator with its date and the way to inquire. As the photo, the play corner instead of a group shot.
Your approach
What matters to you in your care, in everyday language: small group, steady rhythm, time outdoors, meals and naps. Without jargon that only the advisory service understands.
Daily routine and hours
Drop-off and pick-up times, a typical day, closing days for the coming year and how cover is arranged when you are sick or on vacation.
Settling in
How the first weeks go, who is there, how you can tell that a child has settled, and how parents can be reached during this time.
About me
Your path into childminding, the license and the youth welfare office that issued it, your qualification course, pediatric first aid and a photo of yourself.
Contact and first visit
Phone hours, a short inquiry form and a note that the exact directions come with the invitation to a first meeting.
The copy should come from you, because nobody knows your days better than you do. An approach that reads like an application form does little for parents; a paragraph describing what a child experiences with you on a Tuesday morning does a lot. If you would like help with writing, our website copywriting service is there for that. For getting started as a self-employed person with your own site, the article Website for freelancers is also worth a look.
License and training: trust built on facts
Childminding in Germany comes with clear rules. Anyone who wants to look after one or more children outside the parents' household for part of the day, for more than 15 hours a week, for payment and for longer than three months needs a license (Section 43(1) SGB VIII). It is granted if the person is suitable and has child-appropriate premises, and it is limited to five years (Section 43(2) and (3) SGB VIII). The rule on criminal record certificates applies accordingly to suitability: the youth welfare office is to have an extended certificate of good conduct presented when placing children and at regular intervals (Section 43(2) and Section 72a(1) SGB VIII).
These credentials are widespread. Of the 34,180 childminders on March 1, 2026, 31,456 had completed a qualification course (Destatis) and 32,026 had a first aid course for infants and toddlers (Destatis). That is 92.0 percent and 93.7 percent (Destatis). Precisely because these credentials are common, what makes the difference is not having them but presenting them: parents see at a glance what is in place instead of having to ask at the first meeting. What belongs on the About me page:
- Childminding license with the issuing youth welfare office and the date until which it is valid
- Qualification course with the year completed, plus any teaching or childcare training
- Pediatric first aid course with the year of the last refresher
- One sentence stating that the extended certificate of good conduct is on file with the youth welfare office
- Further training in recent years, for example on language, movement or child protection
- A photo of yourself, ideally in the garden or the play corner, with no children in the picture
Child protection also needs a clear procedure for when something is wrong. In publicly funded childminding, the agreements with the youth welfare office must ensure that the childminder carries out a risk assessment when there are significant indications that a child in their care is at risk, and consults an experienced specialist when doing so (Section 8a(5) SGB VIII). One sentence on this on the About me page shows parents that you know this responsibility, without going into details.
The legal notice is part of this too. A childminder's website is a commercial digital service, and the legal notice states the name and the address at which you are established (Section 5(1) no. 1 DDG). Because childminding requires a license from the youth welfare office, we take the view that the competent supervisory authority belongs in it as well; the law requires this information for activities that need official authorization (Section 5(1) no. 3 DDG). A legal adviser can clarify the individual case. What else the legal notice needs is covered in our article on the legal notice requirements.
Child protection in photos: rooms, not faces
The obvious photo for a childminder shows children at play. Legally, a recognizable picture of a child generally needs consent: portraits may only be distributed or publicly displayed with the consent of the person shown (Section 22 KUG), and for young children the decision lies with those who have parental responsibility. The General Data Protection Regulation singles out children: they merit specific protection with regard to their personal data, in particular when their data are used for marketing (GDPR, Recital 38). A website that advertises free places serves exactly that purpose.
There is also a practical problem. Consent can be withdrawn at any time (Art. 7(3) GDPR). The photo then disappears from your page, but not from the devices of people who saved or forwarded it. And the child itself was not asked; only years later can it say whether it wants its picture to be public. The solution is simple and still feels warm: show the place, not the children. What parents mainly want is a sense of where their child will spend the day.
The play corner
Rug, building blocks, a shelf of picture books at child height. Photographed at a toddler's eye level so parents see what their child will see.
Garden or the way to the playground
Sandbox, mud kitchen, handcart. Without a street sign, house number or the neighbor's house in the background, so the location cannot be traced from the picture.
The dining table
Small chairs, a laid table, an example of lunch. That says more about daily life than a written meal plan.
Rest and naps
The nap room with beds or mats, curtains drawn. A picture answers the question about nap time before it comes up in conversation.
Recognizable even without a face
Protection also covers the location. More than half of childminders work in their own home: on March 1, 2026, that was 20,073 of 34,180 (Destatis), with more than one place of care possible per person. That is 58.7 percent (Destatis). Your home address is then also the place where the children spend the day. It still has to appear in the legal notice. Everything else on the website works without it: the home page and contact page name the neighborhood, and a map pin, photos of the front of the house and notes such as "bell on the left, please leave strollers in the hallway" come with the invitation to a first meeting. More on image rights is in the article Use website images legally.
Approach, daily routine, settling in
For parents, your approach is not a formal document but the answer to the question of how their child will feel with you. Write it the way you would explain it at a first meeting: what matters to you, what the rhythm looks like, how much time the children spend outdoors and what they eat. The law sets the frame: childminding is meant to support the child's development into an independent, responsible and socially capable person, to support upbringing in the family and to help parents combine work and family (Section 22(2) SGB VIII). A daily routine makes this tangible:
- Arrival between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., handover at the door, free play
- Breakfast together at 9 a.m.
- Outdoors from 9:30 to 11 a.m., in the garden or at the playground
- Lunch at 11:30 a.m.
- Nap time from 12 noon, then pick-up or play until 2:30 p.m.
The settling-in section is where trust is built. Describe what the first days look like: a parent stays at first, the time without parents grows step by step, and the first goodbye is short and announced in advance. Do not state a fixed duration; say that it depends on the child. One sentence on how parents should be reachable during this time helps them plan their return to work.
One question belongs on every childminding website: what happens when you are sick? The law requires that another care option for the child is arranged in good time for periods when a childminder is absent (Section 23(4) SGB VIII). How this is solved locally, for example through a fixed substitute or a network of several childminders, is something you agree with the youth welfare office. Put the result in one sentence on the page and list your closing days for the coming year.
One sentence on cover
Costs and funding: explain the process
In publicly funded childminding, parents do not pay a freely negotiated price. The youth welfare office pays the childminder an ongoing allowance. It covers reasonable material costs, an amount recognizing the childminder's work, reimbursement of accident insurance contributions and half of the costs of pension, health and long-term care insurance (Section 23(2) SGB VIII). The amount is set by the public youth welfare agencies unless state law provides otherwise (Section 23(2a) SGB VIII). Parents can be charged fees (Section 90(1) SGB VIII); the amount and the scale depend on local rules.
For the website, this means: no price table of your own that goes out of date with the next council decision. A short explanation of how to get a place and a link to the fee page of your local authority work better. If you charge additional amounts, such as a meal allowance, state them with a date and check with the youth welfare office beforehand what is permitted. When prices generally belong on a website is covered in the article Show prices on your website.
| Parents' question | Answer on the website | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| What does the place cost? | A note on the local fee rules and a link to the authority's page | Local authority and youth welfare office under Section 90 SGB VIII |
| How many hours are possible? | Your care hours and the amounts of care you offer | The family's needs under Section 24 SGB VIII and your offer |
| How do I apply for funding? | The steps in order: find a place, apply to the youth welfare office, sign the care contract | Youth welfare office |
| Are there extra costs? | Meal or materials allowance with a date, if any | You, within the local rules |
The inquiry: few fields, a clear date
The inquiry form has one job: to show you whether a first meeting makes sense. A few details are enough, and every extra field is one more hurdle. How a lean form is put together is described in the article Contact form with fewer fields. For childminding, these details are enough:
- First name of the person inquiring and a way to reply, phone or email
- The child's month and year of birth instead of the exact date of birth
- Desired start as a month
- Hours needed: days per week and approximate times
- The neighborhood or district where the family lives
- A free text field for questions, explicitly without health information
The child's name and photo do not belong in the form. Allergies, developmental topics or medication are health data and therefore a special category of personal data (Art. 9(1) GDPR); you discuss them at the first meeting. The form runs over an encrypted connection, and the privacy policy says what the details are used for and when they are deleted. The basics are summarized in the article GDPR basics for a small website.
Next to the form, list a phone time when you can actually be reached, for example during nap time or in the early evening. Someone who spends the whole day with children cannot answer the phone; a sentence such as "I return calls on weekdays between 1 and 2 p.m." spares parents calls that go nowhere. So that families in the area can find you, name the neighborhood in the page title and text, for example "Childminding in the north district". Whether you also create a business profile in map search is a deliberate decision with your address in mind; what such a profile shows is covered in the article on the Google Business Profile.
From first draft to availability indicator in five steps
- Collect content: your approach, daily routine, settling in, credentials and closing days as notes, plus the current availability with a date.
- Take photos: play corner, garden, dining table and nap room, without children and without a house number in view, plus a photo of yourself.
- Build the pages: home page with availability indicator, approach, daily life, about me and contact, plus legal notice and privacy policy.
- Test the inquiry: fill in the form yourself, check where the message arrives and add your phone time.
- Plan maintenance: a fixed day each month for the availability indicator and closing days, plus a yearly look at all texts and credentials.
Webstart builds sites like this for self-employed people at a fixed price, as a one-page starter website or as a site with several pages; the packages show which size fits you. If you like, we set up the availability indicator so that you can change the date and status yourself without technical knowledge, and we show you how at handover. If you would rather hand it off, add maintenance. A related case with recognition, billing and service area is described in the article Website for everyday helpers.
The next step
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