As you are building your Kita list, you may be wondering just how many Kitas you should apply for. The answer is – it depends! Here’s three factors to consider.
Age of Child
It is usually a bit easier to find a spot for an older child than for a 1-year old so you may not need to apply to as many Kitas. In fact, oftentimes Kitas are actively advertising spots for older kids, so keep your eyes peeled at the local playgrounds.
You may also have a better idea what type of Kita would be the right fit for your child. Build your list with those in mind.
Type of Kita that Works for You
Depending on your employment, certain Kitas may not be a good fit for you. For example, Kitas (or a Tagesmutter) that close early will likely not work for parents with full-time jobs. Likewise, an Elterninitiative may not be the right choice either since the usually require a certain amount of parental contributions.
You may also have a preference for a large or small Kita, a certain concept or a Kita with their own garden or meals prepared on site.
If you’re unsure what kind of Kitas to add to your list, check out our article “What Type of Kita is Right for You?”
Where You Live
Depending on where you live there may be more or less Kitas near you. For example, Reineckendorf has just 154 Kitas while Mitte has 326 (as of early 2022). There may also be more or less people “competing” for the available spots depending on how many families there are in your neighborhood.
So if there’s not that many Kitas within your neighborhood or not as many families applying, you may not have to contact as many Kitas. As you start your application process and talk to Kitas, you will get a feel for how competitive a given neighborhood is.
How Many Babies Were Born the Same Year as Yours
And the concept of supply and demand also applies to Kitas – and since lately, there haven't been as many babies born as 5-10 years ago, it is finally get a bit easier to secure that elusive Kita spot! That is good news for parents who may even be able to choose from several options and pick based on their priorities, preferences and needs. (Learn more about how to know what type of Kita is right for you.)
To wrap it up, depending on the above criteria, you should probably apply to anywhere between 15 and 30 Kitas near you.
(Personally, I applied for way too many! I contacted about 80 Kitas, which was a lot of work, but in hindsight some of them just wouldn’t have been right for us. 30 or 40 would have probably been enough! Mind you, this was back in 2017/2018 when there was a baby boom in Berlin and it was incredible hard to secure a spot! In the end we did have a few offers and secured a Kita we're still very happy with – now with our second child.)
So hopefully you'll build your list more carefully than I did, so you'll be done faster with the same or even better chance of success!
