Hello,

It would be great to have some advise on how to become a Tagesmutter. I am English (I speak basic German) and I will move to kanton Zurich in March 2009.

I understand that I will have to enroll onto a day course to get the qualification I need - in terms of permits - do I need one before I can enroll onto a course?

I am coming to Zurich Friday 5th December for the weekend and it would be great to speak / meet up for coffee with someone who is working as a Tagesmutter to find out more about the role and process.

Many thanks in advance for any help / advice you can give me.

You will get all that information from the local Gemeinde as you will need to register with them. You need to make an appointment with your Gemeinde on the day you're here and find out from them everything you need to do. As for the permit questions, you'll be in the right building to ask those questions too.
Where in Zürich are you moving to?

Hi Benw, Did you find any information regarding Tagesmutter? I am thinking about doing the same thing and I heard the course is only in German which will be difficult for me.
It will be interesting to hear from someone who managed to set this up because so far people on here that have talked about it never seemed to get it off the ground.

Cheers
Julie

I'm an official Tagesmutter with my Gemeinde having done the basic course, Grundkurs für Tageseltern, earlier this Spring - it ran over 3 days and not one. The course was in High German for my benefit as I was the only non-Swiss there. I take care of 2 Swiss boys along with my son after Kindergarten 2 days a week.. you do not do Tagesmutter for the money as the pay is a bit of a joke, I do it purely for my son's social and language development.

The only place to get information regarding Tagesmutter, courses etc. is from your local Gemeinde. Each Gemeinde is different and will have their own Tagesfamilien organisation and each will differ from another regarding the courses, pay, rules etc.

Thankyou Swisstree this is helpful.

I'm not really doing it for the money either (though it would be a bonus if I made some). I'm doing it mainly to get into childcare whilst I learn the language and to keep my self occupied and not isolated while my partner is at work.

Once my partner knows which area we're moving to which should be a week today then i'll contact the local Gemeinde.

Thanks again

You don't have to work through the Gemeinde it's also possible to work independently.

That would be good!

Do I need to follow any guidelines/laws etc or can I just advertise and meet the parent's and they decide whether to leave their children with me or not?

http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/...story/13863835

The Swiss government decided today that to be a Tagesmutter in future one will require an official authorisation. Above the link to an article in today's Tages-Anzeiger.

Its a great idea for social interactions with children

As a working mom, I'd love it if more English-speaking families became Tagesfamilien.
I was speaking to the local agent from the Gemeinde recently, and she told me that as far as Kreis 7 and 8 are concerned, there are practically no Tagesfamilien.