Childcare Day on May 11 takes on special significance this year. Since the beginning of the pandemic, childcare in its previous form has no longer been possible, and everyone is realizing that this means a very important part of our everyday lives is missing.

It is now clear how important childcare is for families. In particular, it is important for maintaining a work-life balance, but also for the development of children, who need social contact with their peers and their teachers. And last but not least, it is a prerequisite for the functioning of our social systems.

I would therefore like to express my special thanks to the teachers and daycare workers who have been providing emergency childcare since the beginning of the pandemic.

They are doing an excellent job, acting as contact persons for parents and reaching out to families and children so as not to lose touch with them despite the enforced separation. They are adapting to the difficult conditions in order to continue their everyday educational work for and with the children and to remain a trusted figure for them.

And, of course, even outside of these extraordinary times, daycare centers are places for children and families where a wide variety of needs, abilities, cultural backgrounds, and circumstances come together. Their work guarantees equal and shared education and upbringing for all children in our society, as well as their participation in society. In particular, childcare also plays a crucial role in the inclusion of all children.

It is important for our educators to treat children and their families with respect and sensitivity. They enable children to settle in well and sensitively at the beginning of their kindergarten years and accompany them throughout their everyday lives, providing them with encouragement and support and offering learning experiences that are always tailored to the children's stage of development. They teach children to respect and care for themselves and others, for the environment and for nature. They are experts in many issues affecting children and their families, and I know that this service is greatly appreciated.

As educational professionals, you take on a great deal of responsibility for the children and ultimately also for their families on a daily basis, in an atmosphere of trust. The current crisis has changed the framework conditions, but it has also made the importance of childcare clearer.

That is why today is a particularly important and extraordinary "Childcare Day," on which we would like to express our gratitude for your dedicated and responsible work for and with the children and their families.

Let us continue to care for the little ones in Mainz with joy and success.

Yours, Eckart Lensch