Nationally, the number of childcare places roughly matches demand, but free places vary from region to region, so it pays to widen your search. Options the official sources describe:
– Search beyond your own commune. The [national directory of childcare services](https://ssl.education.lu/sea/StaarkKanner) gives contact details for services across the country. Note that some services only take children who live or go to school in their commune.
– Look at mini-crèches, which take up to 11 children at a time.
– Consider a childminder (assistant parental): an approved carer who looks after up to 5 children in their own home and can work day or night. The Agence Dageselteren advises parents looking for one.
– Ask each crèche about its availability and keep in touch. You register directly with each service, and each manager sets its own admission criteria.
– Arrange care at home: a nanny you employ and declare to the CCSS, or an au pair.
Costs: today the 20 free weekly hours for children aged 1 to 4 apply only in crèches and mini-crèches, not with childminders. Once bill 8686 is voted, the CSA reform (planned for 1 January 2027, still in parliamentary committee and open to change) extends them to childminders. It also makes care free for up to 60 hours a week for households earning under twice the social minimum wage, and makes the first 29 or 24 hours a week free for incomes up to three or 3.5 times that wage.
Longer term, the government has announced that by 2030 it wants to guarantee a childcare place for every child who needs one, with targeted state investment.