Michelstadt Family Center: Future projects for more education and protection

Michelstadt Family Center: Future projects for more education and protection

On August 26, 2025, an important meeting took place at the family center in Michelstadt, in which education coordinators Rebecca Wallmeroth and Jana Pereira Mendes presented their work and future plans. They have been running the family center since January this year and have already launched a number of projects to enrich the lives of families in the region. Mayor Dr. Tobias Robischon and department head Stéphanie Lang were present at the presentation and were enthusiastic about the initiatives.

The coordinators not only presented the rooms of the family center in the “Am Stadthaus” daycare building, but also emphasized the central role of networking. “We want to work with other family centers, educational providers and specialists to develop a needs-based offering,” says Wallmeroth. An important goal for 2025 should not be forgotten: language promotion and digital child protection are at the top of the agenda.

Media literacy in focus

Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine everyday family life without digital media. As bpb.de analyses, new media trends influence communication in families and can be both enriching and conflict-filled. Parents often look for ways to sensibly control their children's media use in order to positively promote their development.

An example of the practical implementation of this goal is the “Meaningful Screen Time” event that took place in June. Here parents were able to listen to experts and exchange ideas with other families. The lecture “Digital child protection begins at home” showed how important it is to support children in using digital media and to build media skills at an early stage.

Families can expect a wide range of options

The family center is planning a variety of new offerings that go beyond the topics already mentioned. On September 8th, for example, there will be a parents' evening to promote language skills, followed by an infant care course on September 28th. In addition, from October 22nd there will be weekly sports activities such as yoga and chair yoga, which offer a welcome opportunity for exercise for both parents and older people.

The education coordinators’ declared goal is to create a wide range of offerings. “We not only want to support the families in Michelstadt, but also create a contact point where everyone can find help and advice,” emphasized Mendes. Open consultation hours, toddler groups and painting courses for children are also already being planned.

This development also shows how important the family center is for the regional community. Mayor Robischon emphasizes that this is a cross-generational offer that not only benefits parents, but also their children and older people. Networking among each other should be strengthened, and this is where supporting projects such as “Family Life & Digitalization”, which are funded by the Hessian Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Sport, Health and Care, come into play.

Family education institutions have the opportunity to benefit from qualification measures and improve their media skills. Information about this is available at familien-digital.de, where materials on digital media literacy are also provided.

The career of the family center in Michelstadt has just begun: As Wallmeroth and Mendes emphasize, parents have many exciting offers ahead of them that not only increase media literacy, but also promote exchange and networking in the family community. We can look forward to the upcoming events and their positive impact on the parent-child relationship and the entire community.