4 ms·

Per walking / public transit to school, Japan is always the big example where many kids do so on their own. I feel like I've read this is mandatory there, but

Per walking / public transit to school, Japan is always the big example where many kids do so on their own. I feel like I've read this is mandatory there, but a quick search finds no backing evidence so maybe not. I'm curious though in Japan whether this is part of a general trend combating helicopter parenting, or if it's just a one-off social norm.

valgaze 9y ago
CBS Dec 2015 on Japan http://youtu.be/IkVvXVDs5aI http://youtu.be/IkVvXVDs5aI Not sure if they're common/representative, but two interesting things the mother demonstrated (2:14): 1. She can track the kid via GPS 2. When asked, she said she would never let her son walk alone to school in the United States
- new299 9y ago
  It's been common in Japan since before the second world war. My wife, who went to school in Japan, says it's seen as a good thing, to encourage independence. There's a popular TV show, where they follow small kids (maybe 4 or 5?) on their first "trip alone" to do a chore, obviously they're being followed by a camera crew. But the TV show promotes kids taking responsibility for themselves (and it's cute of course). The US is just seen as a much more dangerous country than Japan. I mean, it actually does have a higher crime rate. Sorry, this is all purely anecdotal. But I believe it to be the general case (would as always love to see data).
new299 9y ago
It's not mandatory, but it is common. It's a social norm that has been common practice for many years. It's common both in towns and in the countryside. I would say (but don't have data to show) that there's is a slow trend against it. Possibly because of recent high profile abductions...
lawl 9y ago
In Switzerland kids often walk to Kindergarten (age 4/5 and up) alone. At least I know I did (okay it was only like a 5 minute walk in my case). For school in can't remember anyone ever being brought by their partents. (Probably excluding the first few days of course). So this quote > the Ministry had checked with their lawyers “across the country” and the Attorney General, and determined that children under 10 years old could not be unsupervised in or outside the home, for any amount of time has me really like WTF. Edit: A bit more background now that I'm thinking about it. It's completely normal for kids in Kindergarten to go there alone, the first day each kid gets a reflector thingy(?)[0] they wear to walk there so they can be seen easily while crossing streets. Every morning you see a bunch of little kids toddling to Kindergarten, I've never really thought about this being different anywhere else. [0] https://www.max-der-dachs.ch/files/shopimage/photo/8/vga_leuchtstreifen_5298_original_cropscale_600x500_cropscale_600x500.png https://www.max-der-dachs.ch/files/shopimage/photo/8/vga_leu...

valgaze 9y ago

CBS Dec 2015 on Japan http://youtu.be/IkVvXVDs5aI http://youtu.be/IkVvXVDs5aI Not sure if they're common/representative, but two interesting things the mother demonstrated (2:14): 1. She can track the kid via GPS 2. When asked, she said she would never let her son walk alone to school in the United States

new299 9y ago
It's been common in Japan since before the second world war. My wife, who went to school in Japan, says it's seen as a good thing, to encourage independence. There's a popular TV show, where they follow small kids (maybe 4 or 5?) on their first "trip alone" to do a chore, obviously they're being followed by a camera crew. But the TV show promotes kids taking responsibility for themselves (and it's cute of course). The US is just seen as a much more dangerous country than Japan. I mean, it actually does have a higher crime rate. Sorry, this is all purely anecdotal. But I believe it to be the general case (would as always love to see data).

new299 9y ago

It's not mandatory, but it is common. It's a social norm that has been common practice for many years. It's common both in towns and in the countryside. I would say (but don't have data to show) that there's is a slow trend against it. Possibly because of recent high profile abductions...

lawl 9y ago

In Switzerland kids often walk to Kindergarten (age 4/5 and up) alone. At least I know I did (okay it was only like a 5 minute walk in my case). For school in can't remember anyone ever being brought by their partents. (Probably excluding the first few days of course). So this quote > the Ministry had checked with their lawyers “across the country” and the Attorney General, and determined that children under 10 years old could not be unsupervised in or outside the home, for any amount of time has me really like WTF. Edit: A bit more background now that I'm thinking about it. It's completely normal for kids in Kindergarten to go there alone, the first day each kid gets a reflector thingy(?)[0] they wear to walk there so they can be seen easily while crossing streets. Every morning you see a bunch of little kids toddling to Kindergarten, I've never really thought about this being different anywhere else. [0] https://www.max-der-dachs.ch/files/shopimage/photo/8/vga_leuchtstreifen_5298_original_cropscale_600x500_cropscale_600x500.png https://www.max-der-dachs.ch/files/shopimage/photo/8/vga_leu...