Munich – The children come first. Then come THESE letters!

The city has been sending information leaflets to young Munich parents since 1968 – the so-called “parent letters”.

In 2021, the social department sent 170,000 pieces to 92,000 parent addresses.

Now the most important letters are revised – the biggest changes: They are against dert!

Responsible for the updates are Meral Wagner (44) and Claudia Stiebels (55). Both are social workers – and mothers themselves.

Meral Wagner to BILD: “The gender-appropriate language is of course taken into account in our new letters to parents.”

Wagner and Stiebels send the letters to ALL firstborns in Munich – completely free of charge! Parents up to the age of 14 receive a total of 42 pieces. The last one even has a farewell letter from the city.

Wagner: “Every week we receive reports of the births of first-born children.” 100 to 150 births per week. Wagner: “Our system shows when the next letters to parents have to be sent to whom.”

Do Wagner and Stiebels have to send it themselves? Luckily no! That works an assistant who franks the letters with a large machine.

▶︎ The letters are a hit with many parents – because the topics are burning! For example: How do I survive the first few weeks? How is my child developing – and how do you manage that with pocket money, a defiant phase or getting sober?

Letters were invented in the US in the 1950s. Munich took it over – at that time it was called like the original “Peter-Pelikan-Briefe”. Dad was still sitting with the child smoking… Or asked the question: Should fathers play with their children too?

In 1968 the city issued its own letters to parents. At times they were even available as audio cassettes – for guest workers, for example from Turkey. The information sheets were updated regularly Meral Wagner: “They have been in this form for 20 years.”

And bald with gender stars…