Kinderkrankengeld

Kinderkrankengeld (child sickness benefit) replaces your income on days you stay home to care for a sick child, separate from your own regular sick leave.

Quick Summary

If your child is sick and needs supervision, and no one else in the household can provide it, you can take paid time off — up to 15 days per parent per child per year (30 for single parents), paid at roughly 90% of your net income through your statutory health insurer.

Who Needs This

• You have a child under 12 (no age limit if the child has a disability) who is sick and needs care
• No other household member is available to look after the child
• You and your child are covered by statutory health insurance (or family-insured under a parent’s statutory policy)

Days Available (2026)

• 15 days per parent, per child, per year (so both parents combined get 30 days per child if both are eligible).
• 30 days per year for single parents, per child.
• With multiple children, the total is capped at 35 days per parent per year (65 for single parents), regardless of how many children you have.

Eligibility

• Both you and your child must be covered by statutory health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung), including family insurance coverage for the child under a parent’s policy.
• Privately insured parents or children generally don’t have automatic access to Kinderkrankengeld in the same way — check your specific private policy for an equivalent benefit.
• The child must be under 12, or any age if they have a disability requiring ongoing care.

Step-By-Step: Claiming

1. Take your child to the doctor when they’re sick and need supervision at home.
2. Ask the doctor for a certificate confirming the child is sick and requires care (similar to a regular sick note, but for the child).
3. Confirm no other household member can provide the care instead — this is a condition of eligibility, not just a formality.
4. Notify your employer as you would for your own sick leave, since you won’t be able to work those days.
5. Submit the doctor’s certificate to your Krankenkasse to claim Kinderkrankengeld for the missed days.
6. Track how many days you’ve used across the year if you have multiple children, since the combined cap applies per parent, not per child.

Pay rate

Kinderkrankengeld is generally around 90% of your net pay (up to 100% if you received certain one-off payments like a Christmas bonus in the prior 12 months), calculated against a capped daily ceiling — ask your Krankenkasse for your specific amount.

Common Documents

• Doctor’s certificate confirming the child’s illness and need for supervision
• Proof of statutory health insurance for both parent and child
• Employer notification of absence

Common Mistakes

• Assuming this comes out of your own personal sick-leave allowance rather than being a separate entitlement
• Not tracking days used across multiple children against the combined per-parent cap
• Privately insured families assuming the same automatic entitlement applies to them
• Forgetting to submit the doctor’s certificate to the Krankenkasse, not just informing the employer

Important Note

Exact day allowances and payment caps are set periodically. Confirm your specific entitlement and payment amount with your Krankenkasse.