Raising children in Hungary

Childcare options and kindergarten in Hungary

While the state's own support system for childcare is extensive (and in part mandatory for children), expats may find navigating the options for a child under the age of three challenging. First, there is the mandatory free state service of “védőnő,” or district health visitor, a pediatric nurse who checks in on your child's development and issues their vaccination booklet. They are not babysitters, but they are common, and you can source them through Facebook groups or communities like Little Minds, with prices ranging between 3,000-4,500 HUF per hour, or around 8-10 EUR.

Nurseries and daycare

For parents who opted to go back to work, there are, of course, nurseries and daycare facilities, both state-owned and private. However, state-owned nurseries (for ages 0-3) have limited facilities and long waiting lists, and the language is exclusively Hungarian. You can consider family daycares or private nurseries as alternatives, depending on your options for tuition fees, with an average of 100,000 HUF per month for the former and double or triple that for the latter option. The significant quality issues with state-owned nurseries contribute to parents opting to keep their kids at home.

Kindergarten

From three years old and onwards, kindergarten is mandatory for all children residing in Hungary, including expats of all stripes. Kindergartens also provide all-day care, and most of them are financed by the state, while the parents only have to cover the cost of meals. Some kindergartens function as preparatory education, but for the most part, the children spend their time playing. They are great for language immersion, but you can also opt for “foundation” kindergartens within state schools where English teachers are available for a fee.

Parental leave and social norms in Hungary

Hungary is a conservative society that adheres to traditional values ' especially when it comes to having a family and raising children. It is even emphasised in the Hungarian constitution that it is preferable for a man and a woman marry, instead of cohabiting together unmarried. That being said, cohabiting parents are also entitled to childcare benefits.

Good to know:

Same-sex marriage is not allowed in Hungary, but same-sex 'registered partnerships' are recognised by the law and enjoy very similar rights and benefits of a married couple in terms of inheritance and property. However, same-sex partners cannot jointly adopt children, and solo adoptions are extremely difficult or even impossible.

Because of this conservative values system, in Hungary, it is more or less expected that mothers will stay at home for several years after childbirth. Although technically most nurseries accept children as young as 20 weeks, the vast majority of women raise their children at home until the age of 2-3 years old. The state provides family allowance and benefits to help make that happen. This social norm is depicted on parental leave as well: mothers get 24 weeks of maternity leave, which they can extend to three years with paid support. Fathers, on the other hand, are only allowed ten paid days of paternity leave (up from the previous five to match EU directives), which has to be taken within the first two months of the child's birth. The first five paid days are paid in full, but days 6-10 are only paid at 40 percent.

Childcare benefits in Hungary

Given the traditional roles in Hungary expect most women to stay at home and become caretakers for the first few years of their children, the state has been offering several types of benefits to financially help out. Some of these are residence-based, but the high-value benefits (“CSED” and “GYED” - see below) are insurance-based, meaning you must have paid social security contributions in Hungary or the European Union for 365 days within the two years before your child was born.

First, there is a one-off maternity contribution, “anyasági támogatás” to the tune of approximately 64,000 HUF or 166 euros, that is given upon the birth of every child (as long as the mother has used the free maternity consultancy services). Then there is the prenatal/child-bearing aid (“CSED” for Infant Care Fee), which is provided on a monthly basis for the duration of the 24-week maternity leave period. CSED is paid at 100% of the mother's gross calendar daily income, of which only the 15% personal income tax is deducted.

Once that is done, there is childcare pay (“GYED”), which constitutes 70% of an average salary and is capped at 70% of the current minimum wage's double amount. This is given until the child becomes two years old. An extension of that is the universal fixed-sum “childcare aid” (“GYES”) of 28,500 HUF or 75 euros that can be provided until the child becomes three years old.

Good to know:

If you have three children or more, you are also entitled to child-raising support (“GYET”). The “családi adókedvezmény,” or family tax allowance, also reduces the taxable income for working parents. Mothers of four or more are entirely exempted from personal income tax for life.