Social policy | Sick children as a risk for families

Then get well quickly: the day after tomorrow you have to go back to school. Photo: dpa/Annette Riedl The pension points for caring relatives should not be reduced, said the new Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) recently. Anyone who, in view of this announcement, had faint hopes that something could finally change for the better in social policy must now come back to earth. Because the CDU politician thinks the 15 days of child sickness benefit per parent per year, which come from the pandemic period, is clearly too much. It should be ten days again, if he had his way.

Many parents don't make the most of the 15 days. The fact that this is the case probably also depends on different life situations. There are seriously ill children for whom even the thirty days a year from both parents are never enough. And parents with low incomes will not take advantage of this either because they are either already under pressure at work or cannot cope with the lower compensation. But don't fool yourself: if almost all parents had used the money in full, that would also be a reason for cuts for cost reasons.

In addition to the foreseeable increasing financial pressure, especially on families or single parents with children due to higher additional payments for medication, housing benefit or maintenance advances, the reduced child sickness benefit would now be added. What is left for parents when the ten days are up? Do they leave the children in the care of neighbors or grandparents, if available? Do you take your children with you to the office or to the supermarket checkout? Probably not. Children could become a risk to jobs and income, which would be the consequences of such a policy. Or about the health risk for the entire daycare center or school class. You could call this anti-children and anti-family. Compatibility as a slogan for the opposite is moving a little further away.

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