Reconciling family & studies

When I started my Master's degree, my child was not even 6 months old and was probably more of a "screaming child". In Dresden, we had neither family support nor external childcare from a daycare center. My husband had just switched from studying to paid work himself and we divided up the childcare and working hours according to my events. This often meant that we were at home together, switching between care work and university/wage labor several times a day, or that the baby was sometimes taken to university with me. At the beginning, I took part in the Master's courses at the same time, looked after my child in between and often finished my Bachelor's thesis or prepared exams at night. It was a wild time, but manageable.

I found the WBFOE to be very supportive. When I couldn't be on site because of childcare, I took part in the courses online or wrote a seminar paper instead of giving a presentation in person.

We now live 100 km away from Dresden and have become parents again. The older child goes to nursery here, my husband works full-time remotely, I have founded a company and am writing my Master's thesis from home. Our second baby, like the older child, is always with us. But now everything is much more relaxed.

When I think back to the start of the Master's, I can't even imagine how I managed to organize it, but it worked.

I'm passionate about equality and agility, and I'm also a very solution-oriented person - I think these were the foundations for this compatibility. My husband and I plan our everyday family life like a small scrum team, we live an equal parenting life and we give care work the same value as paid work or studying.

My motherhood has made me incredibly efficient. I prioritize more clearly and get a lot more done in less time. Sometimes not everything works out and that's allowed and part of it.

My saving combination was always a baby carrier and a standing desk. Otherwise, it helps to be clear about what goals are important to you and where your priorities lie. Some things then simply fall by the wayside - for me it was parties, canteens and student nightlife. In general, I didn't have time to meet up with fellow students outside of university and I couldn't go on one or two excursions because I was breastfeeding. I also had to cancel exams more than once because the child was ill or I didn't have anyone to look after it.

Oh, one more insight: babies don't care at all whether children's stories or papers are read to them 😉

Until our child was two years old, we had neither a daycare center nor family support and managed everything on our own. We've since moved, so we have a little more support from our social environment and our older child goes to daycare here. Our baby is still too small to be looked after elsewhere. The university's understanding for last-minute cancellations was very helpful.

I live with my husband and my two children in Dresden Pieschen. My older son is 6 years old and his little brother has just turned 1 year old. My husband works full-time as an educator in a daycare center and I have a part-time job (20 hours) as a working student at the city. I am currently in the 2nd semester of my Master's degree in WBF/OE. Theoretically, I would already be in my 4th semester, but I took a year's "baby break".

The children are in daycare during the day while we go to work and I study. I try to spread work and university roughly equally over the whole week, which doesn't always work as the timetable is quite full in the second semester. I therefore often sit at the computer at the weekend in the evening. However, I strictly keep the afternoons free for my children and family, and the odd dance evening is still possible.

My family influences my studies in that they make it financially possible for me to study for my Master's degree thanks to my husband's full-time salary. In addition, everyone is very understanding and tries to give me a lot of freedom when I need it - even if that often proves difficult with a small child.

Both kids are in daycare, which helps enormously and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

The lecture times are really humane. No course starts before 9:20 a.m. and most of the time it goes on until 4:20 p.m. at the latest (more like 2:30 p.m.), so I can drop both kids off relatively relaxed in the morning and don't have to pick them up too late in the afternoon. The only exceptions are the block courses, which I can only attend on a case-by-case basis due to work and childcare. As I've already said, I keep the afternoons strictly free for the family and only get back to my computer to work or study in the evening if necessary. I simply set priorities, but everyone has to set them for themselves.

We also have grandparents nearby who are happy to step in in an emergency if my husband and I are unavailable. But that's more due to work and less due to university.

I'm glad that all the lecturers and professors are quick and easy to contact and are also very understanding if I can't come or have to postpone something due to a sick child or something similar. Everyone is really very accommodating, which

I immediately think of the routes and distances I cover every day. The commute between home, nursery, town hall and university is very time-consuming. That's why I'm almost always fully loaded on my bike - in all weathers. Sometimes it's more fun, sometimes less. Without a bike, it would hardly be possible or individual routes would take up far too much time. I'm simply more independent and flexible this way. I would therefore recommend anyone in a similar situation to get a bike.

Good time management and an organized, structured calendar are the be-all and end-all for me - otherwise I would get lost. I use the "Meistertask" tool for tasks to be completed that relate to university. It allows me to keep track of my tasks and deadlines. It really helps me a lot and I can only recommend it.

I often reach my limits during the exam phases and also occasionally during the semester when the children are ill. Looking after children at home and working from home at the same time is only possible to a very limited extent - at least when my young son has to stay at home. I often get very behind with my tasks and catching up on everything is almost impossible - especially when you're still infected yourself.

Otherwise, good organization and communication with my husband is absolutely crucial for "smooth processes" in everyday life. If we do forget something - and that definitely happens - you have to be able to react very flexibly. But we've learned these things over time - above all to stay "cool" and trust that a solution will always be found.

Financially, it's a challenge for us that I no longer work full-time. To be honest, the child benefit doesn't help much. But we assume that this challenge will be overcome in the near future or that this period is foreseeable, so it's easier to bear.

I'm grateful that we have a grandparent couple in the immediate vicinity and another "only" lives an hour away. This takes a lot of pressure off us in many areas and the kids are happy to be able to spend time with grandma and grandpa.

We also have a super good network of friends where everyone supports each other. I think that's extremely important and I wouldn't want to do without it. We help each other, for example, by picking up each other's children from daycare or simply "entertaining" them for a few hours. That makes both the kids and the parents happy.

I know that there is a kind of daycare center at the university where you can leave your child to be looked after for a few hours. A friend of mine took advantage of this and loved it. I never tried it myself because it wasn't necessary. But I can well imagine that it can be a huge help for students.

In conclusion, I can say that all in all, the WBF/OE Master's is very easy to combine with family and children. The children and family don't "hinder" me at all or anything, but rather give me confidence and trust in the future and are my anchor when things don't go smoothly.

If I wasn't still working, it might even be possible to graduate earlier than the standard period of study. It should also be noted, however, that the topics we discuss in the Master's are incredibly well suited to my work at the city. I can constantly make connections, which is incredibly valuable for transferring theory into practice. I can also have my work fully recognized as an internship, which is another plus point.