If you have no other option for looking after your sick child, you can request leave for family reasons.

The duration of this leave depends on your child's age and may be extended in certain specific cases.

Inform your employer on the day of your absence and provide them with a medical certificate as soon as possible.

You must also send a certificate to your health insurance fund within 3 days of the absence.

You can use a babysitter. If the babysitter is a minor, make sure that his or her parents are informed and that the babysitter is covered by liability insurance. Anyone over the age of 15 can be hired as a babysitter.

You can:

• contact Action familiale et populaire (AFP-Services), which has a list of trained babysitters;
• contact the communal administration of your place of residence; some communes have lists of available young people;
• visit the website babysitting.lu, a platform where parents and young trained babysitters can connect with each other.

The 'Krank Kanner Doheem' service allows you to have your sick child looked after at home by a qualified person during your working hours. Please note that you must register with the service in advance in order to benefit from it. The cost of this service will be calculated in relation to your household's net income.

The costs associated with childcare can be deducted from your taxes, whether the costs are incurred in Luxembourg or in another EU Member State.

To benefit from this, you must declare the amounts spent in your tax return where applicable.

The 'Bilan 30' programme automatically invites parents of 30-month-old children to participate in an assessment of their language development. This assessment, carried out by speech therapists, includes language games and a hearing test to advise parents on how to stimulate their child's language development.

As a parent, you will also receive an invitation for a free vision screening for your children aged 10 and 40 months (vision test 10 and vision test 40). These optional tests are carried out by an orthoptist and assess your child's vision and the need for optical corrections.

Keep a close eye on your child's development from birth. If you suspect any problems with your young child's development, you can make use of early intervention services. Early intervention is aimed at children aged 0 to 4 (before they start school) and offers:

• therapeutic and educational support; and
• screening for developmental impairments or disorders.

It includes rehabilitation measures for children with special needs (physical, mental, sensory disabilities, etc.). The emphasis is on collaboration with the family, with information and support for parents in the education and daily life of their child.