Various family education and counselling services provide parents with well-founded information relevant in different phases and challenges of family life. The services also contribute to strengthening the educational resources of families. Family education is preventively aimed at strengthening everyday resources. Family counselling provides support in the event of problems and conflicts in families. The services are mostly free-of-charge and guaranteed by law, i.e. they must be provided at the local level for parents and family members.
Family education and parenting programmes offer mothers and fathers courses and programmes on parenting skills to achieve positive outcomes for children. Parents can choose local services from a close-knit counselling network in order to improve their child-raising skills. They can find low-threshold support and assistance close to where they live.
Families and early childhood are key to children's educational success later on. Promoting measures that strengthen parenting skills, provide daily help and offer guidance for the education of children prove to be very promising. Since 2011, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has offered further training to qualified staff in early childhood education and care (ECEC) to work as "parental advisers" (Elternbegleiter). Parental advisers are employed in daycare centres, family centres, or other centre-based family education facilities run by child and youth welfare services. They advise families on topics related to upbringing, educational choices and using counselling services during transitions in education.
Family counselling facilities offer advice on parenting issues, pregnancy, problems and conflicts in partnerships as well as before, during or after a separation or divorce. Depending on the thematic focus, counselling is provided in educational, family, life or maternity counselling centres.
Anyone looking for a local counselling centre can contact the youth welfare office (Jugendamt). To search for councelling services online, use the counselling guide provided by the German Working Group for Youth and Marriage Counselling (Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Jugend und Eheberatung) or the search tool for parenting and family counselling centres provided by the Federal Conference for Child Guidance Counselling (Bundeskonferenz für Erziehungsberatung).
The digital platform "STARK - Streit und Trennung meistern" offers online information and advice for parents and children affected by conflict or separation in the family.