PD Dr. Andreas Klärner in the Children’s Commission of the Bundestag

The Commission for the Awareness of Children's Concerns (Kinderkommission, KiKo) is a subcommittee of the Committee for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the German Bundestag and has been in existence since 1988. In the expert consultation PD Dr. Andreas Klärner was invited. He highlighted the special situations regarding children's poverty in rural areas.

The increased need for mobility in rural areas in order to meet basic needs further exacerbates poverty. The distances to work, daycare, school, the doctor or shopping are much longer than in urban areas. If they are made by car, this is an additional cost factor for the family income. Many people do not have a car at their disposal and are then dependent on poorly developed public transportation. Long distances are a particular burden on single parents in terms of organizing their daily schedules and cause stress for the parents. This affects both the children and the adults' career opportunities. So far, however, the problem of child poverty in rural areas has been neglected in research and also deserves more attention in politics and society.

A documentation of the expert discussion with summaries of the contributions of all invited experts can be found on the website of the German Bundestag: www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2022/kw41-pa-kinderkommission-914174