Learn German: Zugegebenermaßen steht das Kindeswohl im Mittelpunkt. - Admittedly, the child's welfare is the focus.

It is formed by combining the past participle zugegeben (admitted) with the suffix -ermaßen (in a manner or measure). This suffix turns participles and adjectives into adverbs that describe established facts or admissions. Therefore, zugegebenermaßen translates perfectly to "admittedly" or "in an admitted manner".

Could I just use zugegeben instead of the longer zugegebenermaßen?

You can, but it changes the sentence structure. Zugegeben on its own often acts as an interjection outside the main clause, so you would say: Zugegeben, das Kindeswohl steht im Mittelpunkt. By adding -ermaßen, zugegebenermaßen becomes a regular adverb integrated into the clause, which is why it occupies position one and immediately pushes the verb steht to position two.

Why is there an "es" in the middle of Kindeswohl?

That is a linking element, known as a Fugen-s, used to connect two nouns smoothly. Here it joins das Kind (the child) and das Wohl (the welfare). Even though Kind takes an -er ending in the plural (Kinder), an -es- or -s- is often used in compound nouns to imply a genitive relationship, literally meaning "the welfare of the child".

Why does the sentence use steht instead of ist to mean "is the focus"?