Families in Germany are under particular pressure due to rising prices as a result of the war in Ukraine and the corona pandemic. In December 2022, 70 percent of parents with children under the age of 18 stated that they were personally affected by inflation.
This emerges from the family barometer presented by Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) in Berlin. At that time, 47 percent felt that inflation was severely restricting their everyday lives.
According to the family barometer, the additional burden on families is greater the lower the household income. For example, low-income single parents would have to spend more than 7 percent of their household income on inflation-related price increases. In comparison, for couples with children who are in the upper income quartile, the additional burden accounts for 4.5 percent of their income.
The family barometer analyzes the mood and desires of parents in Germany. According to the Ministry for Family Affairs, this should result in three fields of action: “Increase financial security for families”, “Further develop childcare according to needs” and “Increase time autonomy in challenging family phases”.
Specifically, Paus wants to invest in a reliable and good childcare infrastructure and continue to pursue basic child security. “These are the points where the shoe pinches the most for families,” said the Green politician. With the basic child security, the traffic light coalition wants to bundle services from child benefit and child allowance to financial support for school trips in a basic child security and to reach more beneficiaries with the services in the future.
