Parenting in Bulgaria

The Bulgarian culture is actually supportive of families and parents. For example:

Public daycare is provided from a young age (we started at 18 months) until school. The public ones cost about 10% of minimum wage. (around 35-45 bgn a month) depending on how many days your child attends. They provide breakfast, two snacks, and lunch. We have found in Gabrovo the level of care to be sufficient for our needs. In larger cities parents often prefer private options (which are significantly more expensive).

Public kitchen is available for preschool kids. The public kitchen costs between 1-2 bgn a day and provides a three course lunch for children, which we pick up at the school behind our house. Unfortunately, my daughter doesn't much care for the food, so we may stop buying it soon.

Maternity leave (or family leave, as the father can take it after the first six months) is for three years. The first year is paid at 90% of the average salary for the two years before it is taken. The second year is at nearly minimum wage, and the third year is unpaid, but your position is still protected. Family leave can also go to grandparents (if they were working before going on leave to watch the children) and if you decide to send your child to daycare in the second year, you still receive half of the parental leave to pay for childcare.

There is also generous leave for parents to take care of sick children up to 8 years old (a certain number of paid days per year, in addition to the parent's sick leave) but I am unsure of how that works, exactly.

Basic health care for children is free, as is a certain amount of dental work. However, private healthcare can get quite expensive. (For example, we had to have our son under full anesthesia for dental care when he was three, and this cost around 600 bgn).

I am not sure which of these benefits are available for children who have two foreign parents, but with one Bulgarian parent, we have accessed all of them. (And family leave is based on whether you worked the year before, so if you paid into family leave, you are eligible for it).

As far as the culture goes, people in Bulgaria tend to love kids and be warm towards them. Although it can be a bit smothering at times (a lot of people love to comment on how my child is dressed or how I parent). The extended family is often involved, which I find to be nice but many of my friends find to be difficult (depending on their relationships with their MIL).

I chose to raise my kids in Bulgaria because the atmosphere is much more relaxed than it is in the US. Kids still play outside on their own. They stay out late in the summer and play with their friends. However, some opportunities that are available in the US (Such as extra curricular programs) are lacking here, which is unfortunate.