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Parents

The grown up side of family life.

Somebody has to book the dentist, read the insurance letter and remember which bin day it is. This section is for that somebody: daily life, work and family, insurance that matters, money without jargon and the planning nobody enjoys but everyone needs.

Try it: Family budget planner

5 topics · 4 quick answers below
Interactive

Family budget planner

Sliders for the big costs, a chart for what is left.

Everyday life

Top

Family logistics are a full time job on top of the full time job. Meal plans, shared calendars, school bags by the door and the small systems that stop every morning turning into a negotiation. None of it is glamorous and all of it buys you time.

Good to know

  • One shared digital calendar for the whole family, colour coded by person.
  • Prepare tomorrow the evening before: bags, clothes, lunches, keys.
  • A weekly fifteen minute planning chat with your partner replaces fifty texts.

Guides in the works

  • The Sunday reset: a routine that makes the week run itselfsoon
  • Chore charts that children actually followsoon
  • Mornings without shouting: a realistic plansoon
Tell me when they land

Work and family

Top

Remote work, part time, parental leave, the school run that clashes with the meeting. Combining a career and children is easier than it was and still hard on the days it matters. We look at leave rules across Europe, flexible working and the honest trade offs.

Good to know

  • Put school pick up in your work calendar as a fixed meeting and treat it like one.
  • Parental leave rules differ hugely by country. Check them before you move, not after.
  • Both parents keep a career line alive, even at reduced hours. Re entry after years off is the hard part.

Guides in the works

  • Parental leave in Spain, Germany, France and the UK comparedsoon
  • Working from home with children in the housesoon
  • Returning to work after a long break: how to restartsoon
Tell me when they land

Insurance

Top

You need less insurance than the adverts say and more than most families have. Liability, health, life cover for the earning parent and, in some countries, disability cover are the ones that matter. Everything else is a question of price and peace of mind.

Good to know

  • Personal liability insurance is the cheapest important policy a family can own.
  • Term life insurance for the main earner: enough to cover the mortgage and ten years of living costs.
  • Review policies when a child is born, when you move and when you buy a home. Not annually, but at these events.

Guides in the works

  • The four insurance policies every family needs and the six they can skipsoon
  • Private health insurance in Spain for expat familiessoon
  • Travel insurance for families: what the cheap ones leave outsoon
Tell me when they land

Finances

Top

Money with children is about buffers and habits. A cushion for the washing machine, a plan for the big costs you can see coming and a way to talk about money without it becoming a fight. No jargon, no products to sell, just the maths of a family household.

Good to know

  • Three months of essential costs in an instant access account before any investing.
  • Automate savings on payday. What you do not see, you do not spend.
  • Children learn money by handling it. Pocket money from around six, with rules.

Guides in the works

  • The family budget that takes twenty minutes a monthsoon
  • Pocket money by age: how much and what forsoon
  • Saving for children: accounts, plans and what to avoidsoon
Tell me when they land

Planning ahead

Top

Wills, guardianship, powers of attorney and pensions are the paperwork of love. Most parents put it off for years. A single afternoon with a checklist covers the basics and gives you a document that says what happens to your children if the worst happens.

Good to know

  • Name a guardian for your children in a will, even if you own nothing.
  • A power of attorney matters more than a will while you are alive.
  • Check your pension contributions after every period of leave. Gaps add up.

Guides in the works

  • The parents paperwork checklist: will, guardian, power of attorneysoon
  • Pensions for parents who took time outsoon
  • Living abroad: which country's rules apply to your family?soon
Tell me when they land
Quick answers

Questions parents ask about parents.

How much emergency savings should a family have?

A common target is three to six months of essential spending: rent or mortgage, food, utilities, insurance and transport. Start with one month and build from there. The point is not the number, it is not having to borrow when the car breaks.

Do we need life insurance if we have no mortgage?

If one parents income keeps the household running, yes. Term life cover is cheap for healthy people in their thirties and forties and replaces that income for the years the children depend on it.

What happens to our children if both parents die without a will?

A court decides who becomes guardian, following the law of the country you live in. Relatives can apply, but nobody has automatic priority in most countries. A will naming a guardian avoids that uncertainty.

How do we split parental leave fairly?

Fair does not mean equal weeks. Look at income, career stage, who wants what and what the rules of your country pay for. Many couples take some weeks together and the rest in blocks, one parent at a time.

Keep going

Sections that usually come next.

Family Health Check ups, teeth, plates and the pharmacy shelf. Home & Living A home that survives a family and still looks like one. Family Services The people who make family life run.
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