Why are little kids in Japan so independent? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#101

Post by masklinn » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 7:31 AM UTC

yawaramin wrote: post #92

slavik81 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm not sure that has anything with "manners mode" etiquette. I have never been to japan and my phone is almost always in silent mode. When my phone is either in my pocket, in my hand, or on my desk half a foot from me, I don't see why it would ever ring.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#102

Post by dav- » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 7:35 AM UTC

alexleavitt wrote: post #8

> "Japan has a very low crime rate, which is surely a key reason parents feel confident about sending their kids out alone. But small-scaled urban spaces and a culture of walking and transit use also foster safety and, perhaps just as important, the perception of safety." Honestly, this perception – that they try to place secondary – is KEY. Living in Japan, it's a stark contrast to walking around the States in any m…

Japan has a pervasive air of safety. As a foreigner who can speak a total of 4 words of Japanese, I felt completely safe wandering the streets alone at night, anywhere from the alleyways of Tokyo to the suburbs. There were surprisingly many people outside late at night, yet I never got a "sketchy" feeling from them like I would even in the most safe/affluent parts of America.

If I was in distress for any reason I am confident that I would be able to get assistance from any random stranger nearby. In fact, while on the train, I witnessed a girl collapse and start seizing. The train was relatively busy at that time but everyone sort of just reacted as if they shared a hive mind. 2-3 people kneeled down to try and help her, a few people got the attention of the conductor, and everyone was very respectful and helpful. I can just imagine what would happen if this occurred on Bart. You would probably either be ignored or people would record you on their phones and upload the video to Facebook.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#103

Post by radicalbyte » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 7:41 AM UTC

Nadya wrote: post #74

Camillo wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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.

They have that here in The Netherlands for bikes: both the cyclist and the driver get green, but the driver must yield to the cyclist (yield to the right).

Countless times I've been almost hit and then screamed at by clueless drivers.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#104

Post by Camillo » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 7:46 AM UTC

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.

Yes, so it basically turns an intersection with traffic lights into one without. The point of a red light is that it removes the guesswork, and gives people going in other directions the guarantee that the stopped traffic won't move. Right on red throw all that out of the window.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#105

Post by carlesfe » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 8:03 AM UTC

I'm from Spain and I've traveled Europe a bit. Kids here go to school alone since they are 6-8 years old, they take the bus/metro, they do errands alone. That's the norm. It also happens in North Africa and Middle East. And, as the article says, it's the norm in Japan too.

Actually, the headline should read "why are USA little kids the only ones so dependent?"

I could go ahead and be a demagogue and say it's because all the helicopter parenting and the fear mass media... but I think it has more to do with the fact that we can go walking anywhere.

Europeans in general, and Spaniards in particular, live on the streets. We hardly use cars: most things are at walking distance, and public transportation is fine. Real crime, like abductions and violence, is very rare, and people help each other.

Local policemen (non-militarized) are everywhere and they help any lost kids. I have been lost maybe a couple times, in a supermarket and in a foreign city and, while I lament the stress that caused on my parents, they knew that I would turn up at some point. And I did. I was a little kid and I was just... lost. That happens and it's not a huge deal.

I'll turn the argument 180 degrees: the USA is a very, very young country. You know what they say, in Europe, 1000 km is a long distance, and in the US, 1000 years is a long time. We've been living in small cities literally since the dawn of time. We've walked. Many cities have streets where cars don't even fit.

It is mainly a car and culture problem. However, it'd be an improvement if you americans could convince your mass media not to constantly spread fear. We also have those fake-fear-documentaries but most people disregard them for what they are: yellowish press crap.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#106

Post by digi_owl » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 8:03 AM UTC

rybosome wrote: post #73

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…

> I really wish we could have the ubiquitous "care for others" mentality alongside the "be yourself" mentality Agreed. I'm not even sure if it's possible for those to coexist, but it's wonderful to imagine - discover yourself and your place in the world while respecting others and recognizing that your actions can negatively affect them. The US has too little of the "care for others" mentality, as evidenced by the la…

They can, but it's a balancing act. One that is constantly under threat by advertisement and similar that push the self above all else.

I sometimes wonder if one need to experience real hardship for the idea to set in. To really experience the need for cooperation to get something done.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#107

Post by XzetaU8 » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 9:06 AM UTC

mikeyb555 wrote: post #85

kevinnk wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I left my wallet and phone on a subway in Manhattan. Both got returned to me (including about $50 cash I had in the wallet). My girlfriend's iPhone 6 fell out of her purse in a nightclub in San Francisco. It got returned to her the next day. In college, my bike got taken during the night and returned a few days later with a sickynote saying the person who took it was drunk and didn't want to drive home. While in Japa…

That only happens in Roppongi, one suburb in all of Japan. There are hundred of places that would happen in the US.

Yeah and these people aren't even Japanese, most of these African touts in Roppongi are from Nigeria.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/12/03/voices/kick...

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#108

Post by slavik81 » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 9:26 AM UTC

Camillo wrote: post #104

joseph wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes, so it basically turns an intersection with traffic lights into one without. The point of a red light is that it removes the guesswork, and gives people going in other directions the guarantee that the stopped traffic won't move. Right on red throw all that out of the window.

There's no need for guesswork. The person with the red light yields to everyone.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#109

Post by chrisbennet » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 11:11 AM UTC

Camillo wrote: post #72

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…

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

It's "right on red after stopping". The problem is people don't stop.

Re: Why are little kids in Japan so independent?

#110

Post by novaleaf » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 2:16 PM UTC

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…

supporting anecdote: while jogging in Seattle, I got hit by a cop car turning right on red. only fell to the ground, no injuries (except bumper marks!), but I could imagine a heavy car like that not even registering a little kid hitting it at 5mph.