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Post by katlady on Jul 11, 2020 20:20:48 GMT
My SO and I were watching an episode of the show mentioned in this article. www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-28/in-japan-small-children-take-the-subway-and-run-errands-aloneI was amazed! Young children, one looked to be about 3, went on errands by themselves. A film crew followed, but the children were allowed to get lost. Some of the scenes, the kids were in smaller cities, but a few were in large cities. Apparently they all learn the same system for crossing the street - Look right, look left, raise your hand and cross the street. Store clerks were happy to help them, nobody on the street questioned them. If that was the US, someone would have probably called the police. And yes, some of the parents were worried, and were so relieved when the child came back home. And I did think the 3 year-old was way too young to go out by themselves. It is such a different culture and experience there. I don't think hardly anyone in the US would allow their 5 year-old to go to the store by themselves. |
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,316 
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Jul 11, 2020 20:37:49 GMT
I read something once about Japanese moms being less stressed than American moms. Turns out they can just send the kids outside all day and no one will kidnap them, and the kids watch out for each other. I haven't even sent my 15 year old to the store alone and it's six blocks away...
I used to go (with a sibling or one of the kids my mom watched) to the park or the 7-11 type store as soon as I had money to buy candy. There were two rules: no using the park bathroom and leave if anyone else was there (not a very popular park) but that was it...
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
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Post by Belle on Jul 11, 2020 20:46:20 GMT
In high school I was an exchange student in Japan and lived with a family that had a 2 year old and 4 year old. They did not ever let the kids roam around the city unattended. They were watched after in a way that was very typical of the area I grew up in here in the US.
When I think of young kids with a lot of independence I think of Swiss kids. I do believe in many cases they walk to school by themselves at a very young age. DH and I were in Switzerland many years ago and were so impressed by a couple of young kids (may 11 or 12) riding the train by themselves up to a ski resort. They had all their gear with them and looked to be very comfortable navigating public transportation and looking after all their equipment on their own.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Jul 11, 2020 20:49:38 GMT
This is normal. My bestie’s daughter in Tokyo took the subway herself and transferred a age 4.
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Post by koontz on Jul 11, 2020 21:07:31 GMT
Wow. That is very, very young. Here in the Netherlands kids do generally ride their bike to school around 8-10 years.
When my DS told me he wanted to go alone, like his friends, it took me a while to get used to it.
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Post by maryland on Jul 11, 2020 21:32:05 GMT
Wow, that's very interesting! And impressive. I want to watch the show.
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Post by katlady on Jul 11, 2020 22:13:11 GMT
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Post by mellyw on Jul 11, 2020 22:25:19 GMT
I lived in Japan for 6 years, and while I can say I did witness this myself, I wouldn’t say it was the norm where I lived (right outside Tokyo). To get to the train station for most of the residents involved crossing a major Japanese expressway. I did it plenty of times, and always felt like I was taking my life into my hands. That could be why I didn’t see it as much. Certainly saw super little ones walking to and from school, which took some getting used to for sure.
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 11, 2020 22:32:04 GMT
I do think we’d benefit a lot from giving kids more independence than we are doing generally here.
That said, I had a neighbor in a prior house who was from a country where kids are given that level of independence at 3-4, and it was not great for the block. Her kid absolutely did not know to stay out of the street, or off of fire ant hills, or out of people’s garages and backyards.
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Post by bc2ca on Jul 11, 2020 22:48:39 GMT
Interesting.
I have 4 siblings and the older three of us were taught how to use the bus and move around town by ourselves from age 5ish.
The bus drivers really looked out for us. We used to catch the University bus to our swimming lessons after school. There were so many students waiting for the bus that would crowd us out because everyone knew it would fill up leaving half the passengers behind. The driver ALWAYS stopped anyone from getting on before us. We were so relieved the first time it happened because if we missed that bus, we missed our lesson.
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Post by ntsf on Jul 12, 2020 0:07:14 GMT
I can remember being 8 and going 1 mile to school by myself. I was also allowed to ski by myself at 6-7... but small area and everyone knew who you were. I left my kids ride the city bus and do transfers at 10-11. they got used to it. they had to solve their problems.. and people are mostly helpful.
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Post by birdgate on Jul 12, 2020 0:40:37 GMT
I walked to kindergarten by myself sometimes. Walked homed alone in the 1st thru 8th grade. I remember sneaking to Pup n Taco on my way home from school when I was 7 and haggling with Indian store owners for candy prices. Lol I was a precocious child tho. Then I think about the little boy in New York who was kidnapped on his first day of trying to walk home alone. So sickening and heart breaking.
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muggins
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
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Post by muggins on Jul 12, 2020 1:03:57 GMT
I lived in downtown Tokyo for 4 years, and I’m about to go back as soon as they resume issuing visas.
It would be extremely rare and very concerning to see a 3 or 4 year old child either alone in the street and certainly not on public transport. Parents of preschoolers do not just let them loose in the city.
First graders are encouraged to walk to school without a parent. They have a lot of guidance and instruction from the school beforehand. They do lots of practice walks with adults and school safety officers. Police liaison officers also come into schools to teach children how to stay safe when travelling home. Each child has a specific route to take with other kids going the same way. They also have a large hi- vis sign attached to their backpack to let people know they are new to walking independently and to watch out for them. Children also have a small trakphone on a lanyard around their neck or dangling from a backpack. It can only call two or three numbers and can track them. My son had one although he travelled 45 minutes to and from school by school bus. There were occasional traffic delays and there’s also a risk of earthquakes so Contacting your child in an emergency is essential.
Some children take multiple trains every day to attend private schools all around the city. Everyone looks out for these children and will step in if they need help.
In Tokyo, an English friend’s 7 year old son used to take the train to soccer practice by himself. However not many expat parents allow for that level of independence.
One of the main reasons we have chosen to return to Japan is due to the level of safety. My DD14 will have so much more freedom there than he currently has.
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Post by maryland on Jul 12, 2020 1:14:12 GMT
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Post by gryroagain on Jul 12, 2020 1:39:47 GMT
My kids had far more freedom in Seoul than Washington DC. It’s one of the reasons ,y oldest daughter is staying here permanently, she wants kids and it’s a very safe place to raise them.
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