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Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

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Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#91

Post by allengeorge »

kuschku wrote: post #83
mgbelisle wrote: post #57

I spent four years growing up in Japan (my parents were ESL teachers) and I attended Japanese public schools for 2nd/3rd grade and sophomore year of college. What the article says is very true; I feel like strangers can be trusted in Japan but not here in NYC. There is strong pressure in Japan to do what's good for others: be clean, be quiet, be honest, be economical. There is also strong pressure to follow the socia…

Hm, especially the risk-aversion seems very similar to Germany. And the effects on the startup culture are interestingly the same. It’s interesting how unicorns are only possible in countries where no one cares about consequences of their actions.

That's...not accurate - you realize that, right? I mean - if we think tech startups in the last two decades only, then yes. But, both Japan and Germany have both fostered huge companies, both conglomerates and not, that belie your statement.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#92

Post by yawaramin »

slavik81 wrote: post #90
mgbelisle wrote: post #57

I spent four years growing up in Japan (my parents were ESL teachers) and I attended Japanese public schools for 2nd/3rd grade and sophomore year of college. What the article says is very true; I feel like strangers can be trusted in Japan but not here in NYC. There is strong pressure in Japan to do what's good for others: be clean, be quiet, be honest, be economical. There is also strong pressure to follow the socia…

When I last visited, I found it interesting that the silent mode on phones was named 'manners mode'.

I think I've let the 'manners mode' etiquette influence me a lot. I now keep my phone on silent from the moment I get on my train for the morning commute to work right up until I get off it again after the trip home.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#93

Post by uniclaude »

joseph wrote: post #82
Camillo wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a foreigner, "right on red" seems insane to me.

I've heard this before and I have to wonder, do stop signs also seem insane to you? Because right on red is no different. You stop, look both ways, and go if it's safe to do so.

This is not how American drivers deal with it. When they don't see an immediate risk of hitting someone, most don't bother stopping at red lights when they want to turn right on red, which is not the case with stops.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#94

Post by ajkjk »

bcoates wrote: post #40
ajkjk wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anyone perceives New York as safe enough for sending children out alone.

Is this perception even slightly based on reality?

Yes? Of course it's a wild generalization. And by 'children' I mean young children, like we were talking about; and I'd have to qualify 'New York' somewhat if we had were going to quibble about it.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#95

Post by dba7dba »

Same thing in Seoul, South Korea also. Little kids walk/subway to school or go to friends' place without parents or older siblings. No such thing as play date being arranged by parents as done in US. Kids do it themselves.

All within artillery range of North Korea too.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#96

Post by dba7dba »

Paul_S wrote: post #32

Why single out Japan? Come and visit most of Europe and observe the same.

I seriously think it's the car culture of US. You move around outside of your immediate neighborhood enclosed in your car, cut off from others except for occasional eye contact or hand motion at stop signs.

And that somehow seems to have translated into a mentality of cannot trust anyone other than immediate family/friends.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#97

Post by interpol_p »

> A popular television show called Hajimete no Otsukai, or My First Errand, features children as young as two or three being sent out to do a task for their family.

I want to try this with my 3 year old. Find a very large park which has a canteen or shop at one end and send him off to buy something. I'd still like him to be visible, but it seems like it would be really fun and empowering.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#98

Post by dba7dba »

jzwinck wrote: post #67
saosebastiao wrote: post #28

I would love to be able to do this with my 3yo son...but there are two things stopping me: Cars and helicopter parent culture. Cars, and the entitled culture we have fostered around them, make streets hostile to pedestrians and likely fatal to small children, even if children followed the laws and common sense. I experience it practically daily. Every time I cross the street at a marked intersection, cars will stop f…

Before you put too much blame on car culture you should know a few things about Japan. First, cars are cheap, and lots of people drive. However, lots of the same people also have a bicycle which they use for short trips including grocery shopping. People also walk. This means drivers have more empathy for people not in cars. Second, the speed limits are low. Some decent looking roads are 50 kph whereas in America the…

South Korea (especially Seoul) is a similar case.

A high percentage of people you see in the Seoul subways actually own cars. Lots of office workers leave their sedans/suvs in the garages of their highrise apartment complexes on regular workdays. They usually walk/bus/subway to/from work. This is because of the crush of traffic at rush hour. You just end up stressed out if you try to drive around in Seoul at rush hour in certain areas. Much less stress/time if you just walk/subway.

The cars are usually driven on weekends for family trip.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#99

Post by dba7dba »

lovemenot wrote: post #75
jzwinck wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before you put too much blame on car culture you should know a few things about Japan. First, cars are cheap, and lots of people drive. However, lots of the same people also have a bicycle which they use for short trips including grocery shopping. People also walk. This means drivers have more empathy for people not in cars. Second, the speed limits are low. Some decent looking roads are 50 kph whereas in America the…

>> Third, children walking to and from school wear fluorescent helmets Just bright-coloured soft hats. Not helmets, which would imply head-protection.

I wish adult joggers in US would please wear reflective something when running on street.

Few days ago I pissed off a biker and a jogger because I didn't see them in time to stop at a safe distance away from them.

Guess what? BOTH were wearing BLACK shirt/shorts. Because they were running from my 10 oclock to 2 oclock (outside of cone of headlights), I just couldn’t see them.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#100

Post by Nadya »

aianus wrote: post #84
Nadya wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree entirely, I also have an issue with "yield on green". Green means "go" at 99% of the lights I run into. Then there's that one left turn I make that's "yield on green" and I'm not supposed to turn. I'm not surprised at all that the intersection has the most accidents annually. I don't think many people are used to yield-on-green lights... so many T-bones its amazing they haven't changed the traffic flow.

What's yield on green? Isn't that a regular green light (you can't turn left unless nobody is coming at you)? That's how the vast majority of green lights work here in Canada...

It's a rarity in my part of the state. There are only 2 intersections that don't have protected left turns and are yield-on-green. They both have triangular signs stating they are yield-on-green and those signs get ignored.

I've been honked at and nearly rear-ended because I yield-on-green on protected turns at unfamiliar lights where I expect them to be yield-on-green (I assume any lane without a dedicated arrow light to be yield-on-green.)

The intersections around here give opposite sides protected left turns, then normal straight traffic flow. None but the "weird two" are yield-on-green and those two intersections, as a result, have a ton of accidents caused by people not yielding properly.

It probably wouldn't be as big of an issue if every other light in the town was yield-on-green instead of protected. It's the fact that those two lights are the only "special" ones that I think causes the problem. Since everyone is used to having a protected turn, people ignore the "yield on green" sign and turn into oncoming traffic (whom they think have a red light).

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