Foster families in Zurich: Why these three couples take in other children every week

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Foster families in Zurich: Why these three couples take in other children every week.

Six children of their own at home – and on weekends, two more join them. That's how the Tages-Anzeiger describes one Zurich family that has opted for so-called respite placements. They aren't alone in this decision: a total of three Zurich couples speak in a new reportage about regularly taking in other children.

What most people understand as a foster family is explicitly not what's meant here. Respite placements are about temporary care – typically on weekends or during holidays. They're meant to give families that are reaching their own limits a break, and to offer the children a reliable second home for a few days.

Three couples who open their doors

At the center of the reportage are three couples from Zurich who share their daily lives with additional children. They talk about what drives them – and what they learn when someone with their own story sits at the breakfast table. The Tages-Anzeiger takes up the topic of foster families in a multi-part reportage. This second part puts the spotlight on the families who keep the system going week after week.

What the reportage shows

The reportage raises two questions that are rarely posed this directly in the debate: Why do people who already have a full everyday life decide to take in additional children? And what changes for them when a child with a different life story becomes part of family life? The answers from the three couples vary – and the reportage makes them come alive.

Read the reportage in the Tages-Anzeiger.