An American mom who has been living in Germany for over a decade shares how some common practices in the US haven't made it to the European country.
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Many American parents are used to utilizing a variety of parenting strategies and baby items in their everyday lives. Some of these strategies or products are not very common in other countries.
Living in Germany for the last 12 years, I've observed over the years since having children of my own that some of the things that my friends back in the US swear by for their children are either not sold here or nearly unheard of.
Some widespread parenting practices in the US are also not popular in Germany. Some of the reasons these differences occur are cultural and circumstantial; I decided to explore why.
Nearly all of my friends in the US with small kids sport a stroller wagon, which they use to tote their young children around at playgrounds or the zoo. If you travel to Germany, though, while you certainly will see stroller wagons, their usage is definitely less common, particularly on city streets.
Many German sidewalks are narrower than Americans', so a large stroller wagon can be challenging to navigate in tighter spaces. In towns with medieval centers filled with cobblestones, dragging a heavy stroller wagon over these bumpy paths may not make for a pleasant ride. German kids tend to be more accustomed to walking longer distances than American kids, so parents often don't see any need for a stroller-type device much past preschool age.
Last but not least, Americans generally don't use or have access to public transportation the way that many Germans do — especially urbanites. Trying to get a wide and bulky stroller wagon onto a bus, tram, or subway train can be mission impossible.
While there's no hard and fast scientific or sociological evidence per se, it's safe to say that part of the reason that structured sleep training is more popular in the US often has to do with the lack of parental leave policies.
In Germany, there is generous (and paid) parental leave. Typically at least one of the parents takes around a year of it. While German parents are potentially equally as sleep-deprived as their American counterparts, normally, at least one parent doesn't have to worry about getting up early for work and being fit mentally and physically after a grueling night. Both pediatricians and midwives typically won't recommend sleep training methods that are widely used in the US, such as the Ferber method. In fact, methods like "crying it out" for infant sleep are often specifically discouraged in Germany.
Generous parental leave is perhaps also the reason certain beloved sleep gadgets and devices are less commonly used in Germany than by American parents, one such example being the Snoo. Many Americans are willing to pay the smart bassinet's high price as it has a good resale value, but its resale value in Germany is questionable. Because of generous parental leave, there tends to be less societal pressure or emphasis on having a baby sleep longer stretches. What pediatricians will recommend almost universally in Germany, however, is a sleep sack for putting babies down to sleep.
Among my American friends and family, many parents have opted for a nanny share when it comes to childcare for their infant or toddler. It's a way for parents to split the often high expenses of a private nanny as well as provide a buddy for their child to interact with.
In Germany, though, nanny shares are virtually unheard of. The primary reason for this has to do with finances and parental leave. In the US, it's rare for free or subsidized day care or childcare to exist, so parents must pay completely out of pocket for childcare. Day care or a private nanny can be very pricey, so a nanny share can help cut down on costs for some families.
In Germany, both group day care and home day care providers are subsidized by the state; in some areas of Germany, day care is free of charge. Nannies or babysitters, however, are not state-subsidized, so costs for a nanny in Germany are fully out of pocket.
Nannies are also regarded as an ideal childcare situation for young babies, much more commonly needed in the US, with parents returning to work within a few weeks or months after birth. But in Germany, due to lengthier parental leave, most kids start day care around age 1.
