Family Guide Northwestern Switzerland 1st edition 2015 Fachstelle Familie und Gleichstellung, Aargau Fachbereich Familien, Baselland Abteilung Jugend- und Familienförderung Basel-Stadt Fachstelle Familie und Generationen, Solothurn Dear Families, Northwestern Switzerland is a wonderful region to live in, to work in or to visit. We have much to offer you and your family. We hope you will find this guide to be a treasure trove of useful tips, providing you with an address you need or pointing you towards the right website at the right time. The guide contains information on public and private services for families in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Solothurn. It also contains some information on services available for all of Switzerland. All available services by the government, churches, associations and support groups are presented in a clear and organized fashion at the end of each chapter together with some recommended readings. Furthermore, the manual offers practical advice and fresh ideas for everyday family life. The Familiy Guide Northwestern Switzerland is by no means comprehensive. We will, however, make a continuing effort to update the content and add new information. We have described each service based on the presentation given by the institution that offers it. Of course, we took care to check all the information we included very carefully. The guide is updated on a regular basis. Institutions and organisations, which were not known to us by the copy deadline of December 2015 and who would like their services to be included in the guide, are warmly invited to get in touch with us. Should you have any comments or suggestions, please send us these by email: [email protected]. Thank you! A long list of experts collaborated with us to create each chapter. We would like to thank them for sharing their experience and expertise with us. Sincerely, Fachstelle Familie und Gleichstellung, Aargau Fachbereich Familien, Baselland Abteilung Jugend- und Familienförderung Basel-Stadt Fachstelle Familie & Generationen, Solothurn Table of contents To access a chapter directly please click on the chapter in the table of contents 1. Family diversity 2. Pregnancy and birth 3. Infants and Toddlers 4. Kindergarten and primary school 5. Adolescence 6. Parenting questions 7. Family and work 8. Professional childcare 9. Finances 10. Migration - Integration 11. Holidays and recreation 12. Health and diet 13. Getting older 14. Separation and divorce 15. Mobbing and violence 16. Death Family Guide Northwestern Switzerland Family Diversity . Traditional nuclear family There is often a certain nostalgia in . Unmarried couples discussions about the family: «Families . Bicultural families used to be a lot closer and bigger, people . Foster families stayed together, families held together...» . Adoptive families We can’t say whether this is really true. But . Single parent families we do know that family structures and the . Same-sex partnerships way people live have changed . Stepfamilies/Patchwork families considerably. We are always influenced by images of the ideal family. Today, there are two dominant images: In the traditional nuclear family, the husband is the breadwinner, the housewife and mother is responsible for raising the children and house keeping . There are several other «new» types of family: the nuclear family where both parents work, adoptive families, bicultural families, single- parent families, same-sex partnerships, unmarried parents, large families, foster families, or stepfamilies/patchwork families. But no matter what type of family we consider, basically they are all striving for stable and harmonious Page 1 of 11 relationships with each other. However, roles are changing. Family Guide Northwestern Switzerland The gender-specific division of labour, laws governing the partnership of which has given men more wealth and unmarried couples, so there is no legal power, is slowly being replaced by certainty about what happens if the shared responsibilities. couple separates or one partner dies. It may be helpful to draw up a common-law Traditional nuclear family agreement that defines rights and The father is the breadwinner, working full obligations of both partners in the case of time. The mother takes care of one or two separation or death. Important issues to or maybe more children and does the think about are rent/mortgage, children, housework. This is the old ideal of the child-support, pension funds or a will. You family dating back to the period of can find more information on such industrialisation in the 19th century. Other agreements on the websites listed at the cultures don’t share this ideal. Even in our end of this chapter. western culture, it was common to share Bicultural families the work involved in keeping a family. For example, in agricultural societies, all Half of the couples getting married in members of the family contributed to Switzerland today come from two different growing crops and taking care of animals. countries. Binational relationships and A man can only be the family’s sole culturally diverse families are quite breadwinner if his job pays well enough to common. sustain the whole family. In most cultures, When two people of different nationalities this has never been the norm. Even in get married, they must integrate two Switzerland today, it is hard to live different cultures and two sets of values according to the old ideal. Many mothers into their everyday life. This can be quite have no choice but to get a job. Besides, tricky. many women choose to stay in their job The «Beratungsstelle für binationale Paare after giving birth, because they want to und Familien» (Information Centre for pursue their own career, too. binational couples and families) offers advice on: • legal issues (i.e. international Every family should have a choice of how marriage laws and rights of the child, they want to organise their lives. There is Swiss immigration law) no right or wrong way of life, but it must be • social security in Switzerland renegotiated again and again over time, as • schools, education and working in the children grow older. Switzerland • social, cultural and religious issues Unmarried couples in Switzerland and abroad, before and after marriage. Young couples often live together without getting married. However, there are several You will find a lot of information online. major legal disadvantages to this However, a personal consultation is arrangement – except for the fact that in advisable. Switzerland, married couples pay more taxes than unmarried ones. There are no Page 2 of 11 Family Guide Northwestern Switzerland Foster families prepared to care for the child as you would for your own. Your biological children must Foster families take in children who, for accept a new brother or sister. An adoption whatever reason, cannot live with their will change the life of everyone involved – biological parents. Fostering a child is a do not take it lightly. long-term commitment that will change the lives of everyone involved. In her book for prospective adoptive parents, Barbara Steck says that adoption It is important that foster parents be is a «lifelong process»: «Adoptive parents prepared to cooperate closely with Social and adopted children will be faced with Services and the child’s parents. Even if different challenges along the path they the child becomes part of the new family, walk together. Many adoptive parents go the child will always have a special role, through very difficult phases with their being a member of two families. The child children. Some situations can be quite has to find his or her place in new stressful for everyone involved. surroundings, find security in new relationships and maintain a close bond An adoption is a complex situation for all with the biological parents. Foster children members of the adoptive family. Adopted need a lot of support and understanding children must accept the fact that although from the new parents. They need time to they are not growing up with their biological come to terms with the new situation. Even parents, they get just as much love. after many years in the foster family, the Everybody must find their own way of children may want to discuss the situation dealing with the situation. Adoption is an again and again. Both children and foster extraordinary and challenging project, for it parents must be patient and willing to changes a family completely, and also discuss difficult questions openly. changes the family’s history.» Families interested in fostering a child need There is a legal distinction between the to meet certain personal and legal adoption of an under-age child, the requirements. Please contact the adoption of a stepchild or international competent authority for your canton for adoptions. You will find all relevant details more information. You will find the address on the website of the competent authority, at the end of this chapter. such as the legal requirements for adoption, all necessary forms and Foster parents of children under the age of international agreements. 15 need a licence issued by the canton, irrespective of whether or not the family is Single Parent Family remunerated for fostering a child. No licence is needed to become a provider of Single parents need to shoulder the day-care. responsiblity for their children on their own. In the past decades, the number of single Adoptive Family parents has grown considerably, most of them women. There are around 160'000 If you are thinking about adopting a child, single-parent families in Switzerland. Many consider it very carefully. You must be Page 3 of 11 Family Guide Northwestern Switzerland single parents have gone through a tough Same-sex partnerships divorce or have had to come to terms with Married or not, a couple is obliged to their partner’s death. It takes time to settle support each other and to share their life into the new situation.