Large medium-sized cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

Around 76,000 inhabitants live in Arnsberg in the Hochsauerland district. Around 16% of Arnsberg's population is under the age of 18, while around 22% is over 65.

Family-friendly offers

Arnsberg has a number of offers tailored to the specific needs of children and young people: firstly, the "Queer-Café" as a meeting place for teenagers and young adults from the LGBTQIA+ community, and the "props!" group service for children and young people with one or both parents affected by a mental illness.

With the "Family Centers in the Arnsberg Model", the central city offers 18 family centers that are tailored to the needs of the respective districts. The services include, for example, parent groups, integrative care for children with disabilities or native language lessons, and can be booked via an app.

Located on the Teutoburg Forest, Detmold is home to around 77,000 inhabitants from around 130 nations. Around 18 percent of them are under 18 years old.

Family-friendly services

For families, Detmold offers the "Familien.Info.Treff (F.I.T.)" as a contact and contact point and the "SimBa" family visiting service for parents of first-born children. In 2023, Detmold also carried out the second city-wide youth survey in order to better take into account the opinions of teenagers and young adults.

Further political participation by young people has been taking place for several years as part of the Detmold Youth Forum. Pupils from secondary schools discuss their ideas and wishes on various topics and then present their findings to the Detmold administration and local politicians.

Dinslaken in the district of Wesel is home to around 68,000 inhabitants. Around one in six people is a child or young person under the age of 18.

Family-friendly services

The town offers a contact point for families with the Family Office and also enables younger residents to participate in politics through the Children's and Youth Parliament.

The "Dinslaken Network for Healthy and Happy Growing Up", also known as "OurDINgg", brings together cooperation partners with the aim of providing low-threshold services for children, young people and families. Among other things, "UnserDINgg" organizes inclusive school action days at elementary school and provides information on the mental health of children and young people in the context of media consumption.

Located between Neuss and Cologne, Dormagen is home to around 66,000 people. Around 17 percent of the population is under 18 years old, while around 21 percent is over 65.

Family-friendly offers

For almost 20 years, the "family-friendly town" focus has been anchored in Dormagen's mission statement. For example, the city offers accessible information for expectant and young parents in the "Family App", supports the transition from school to work with the "Dormagener Weg" offer and creates a meeting place for families from different backgrounds with the "Café Grenzenlos".

In addition, the "Netzwerk Für Familien" (NeFF) brings together partners with the aim of reducing disadvantages. In the areas of upbringing, education, health and youth welfare, the NeFF creates a chain of prevention from pregnancy to education, for example through family midwives, learning support or attachment training for single parents.

About 56,000 people currently live in Hattingen in the Ennepe-Ruhr district. While around 15 percent are 18 or younger, one in four people in Hattingen is 65 or older.

Family-friendly offers

With the project "Baby-friendly Hattingen", the town is promoting the establishment of breastfeeding and nappy-changing corners. Young people can find a space for leisure activities in the youth clubs and find cultural and exercise activities as well as workshops.

Founded in 2006, the "Hattinger Bündnis für Familie" (Hattingen Alliance for Families) implements various projects, including on the housing situation, family-friendly workplace design, nutrition and sport. Once a year, it also organizes the Hattingen Family Alliance Festival with around 40 exhibitors.

Around 68,000 people currently live in Herford in East Westphalia. Of these, 21.5 percent are over 65 years old, while 18 percent are under 18 years old.

Family-friendly services

The prevention chain "Herforder Weg" offers families support in areas such as education, health promotion and early help.

The city of Herford is particularly committed to protecting children from sexualized violence. The prevention project "Sam says NO!" is part of the "Herford Way" and is aimed at nursery and primary school children, parents and professionals. The hand puppet Sam ("strong, mindful, courageous") and a play are used to empower children in an age-appropriate way. Professionals from the facilities are also trained by the victim counseling center "Wildwasser e. V. Bielefeld".

The medium-sized town of Hilden is located between Düsseldorf and Solingen. 16 percent of its 58,000 inhabitants are under the age of 18, while almost 26 percent are 65 or older.

Family-friendly services

The "Stellwerk" coordinates services for families, children, young people, senior citizens and new immigrants in Hilden. Among other things, the city of Hilden offers the "JuMa groups" for parents with children between 0 and 6 or 18 months and brings families together with senior citizens in the "Lending Grandparents" project.

Families with at least one child under the age of 17 can also apply for the free "Family Pass", which allows them to take advantage of offers and discounts at numerous companies.

Almost 60,000 inhabitants live in Langenfeld in the district of Mettmann. 17 percent of the population are under 18 years old, while 24 percent are over 65.

Family-friendly offers

The first point of contact for families is the family office, which bundles offers, support and events. For example, the "Active counseling hours" project of the family office offers parenting tips and unbureaucratic support from a pedagogical specialist for families with children between the ages of one and six.

The "Mobile Early Help" project is on the move in the individual districts of Langenfeld, seeking contact and providing information to families with children up to the age of 6 at playgrounds and village squares.

Minden in East Westphalia has around 85,000 inhabitants. Around 18 percent of them are under the age of 18.

Family-friendly offers

With the offers "Kulturzwerge", "Kulturstrolche" and "Kulturrucksack", Minden enables different age groups to take advantage of cultural offers and become creatively active themselves.

For immigrants, the city of Minden offers services such as the project "Migrants for Migrants", which offers advice in the language of origin, as well as the "Intercultural Health Consultation", which takes cultural and religious aspects into account when providing information about the healthcare system in Germany.

The Minden Learning Company (MILEFA) has been established to counter the shortage of skilled workers. Here, pupils in years 9 and 10 gain practical insights into professions, while Minden companies get to know potential trainees.