Kay
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Hi DD!
I haven’t tried the Kindle Fire but one thing I like about the iPad mini is that parents can use it too, so it’s multifunctional. However, since the Kindle Fire Kids Tablet is exclusively for kids, all the content on it and can be downloaded on it is kid-friendly. It’s also a lot cheaper!
I am so glad to hear she’s feeling better and could attend nursery!
And I understand, we want to do our best for our little ones but it’s a lifelong learning process!
Hi DD!
Again, sorry for the late reply.
I haven’t dealt with that before! But it’s not your fault, I think any parent would have taken the same actions as you did. Has it gotten any better over the week?
So happy to hear you found a good direct flight! I hope Shimi enjoys her trip 🙂
Haha, my daughter is unfortunately addicted to her iPad. I always take it away from her but my husband gives it back (he wants her to be connected to technology, I want her to be connected to the real world!). Granted, it’s good for downloading apps to get them to learn the alphabet and hiragana, etc.
I hope you’re enjoying your social media break and let me know how the trip back home goes!
Hi DD!
Sorry for the late reply.
It’s so exciting that Shimi will be going on her first international trip soon!
Based on my experience with my daughter, I think the shorter you can make the trip, the better. But our trip last year was 24 hours, so perhaps Shimi will be fine for 16 hours. You also need to consider the possibility of planes being delayed. If there’s a layover, this might mean missing a flight or having your trip end up being much longer than you expected.
For instance, our flight from Narita to Vancouver was delayed and the next flight to my hometown was four hours later. This was when my daughter had a breakdown (understandably, it makes my heart break even now remembering it. She did so well up until then but it was 16 hours of traveling at that point, my poor girl…)
I’ll share this on Twitter (as much as that place disappoints me now, haha) and Bluesky as well to see if other parents can offer some advice.
As for earphones, I got these JVC ones but my daughter didn’t want to wear them. My friends used these ones.
That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!
Hi cris!
Sorry for the late reply and thanks for introducing yourself. Your kids are quite multicultural! I hope you guys have been adapting well to your new home.
I love Australia, I went there for my honeymoon several years ago. I hope to visit again!
The possibility of moving to Shizuoka is very exciting as well, such a beautiful area. And you’ll be close to a great outlet mall!
Sorry for the late reply, DD!
These are very good questions for discussion.
I don’t have that much personal experience with the school systems in Japan yet (which is why I’m not ready to write a post about it) but here are my thoughts based on what my husband has told me about his experience and what I’ve heard from others:
do you feel international / private schools are significantly better?
It depends. I’ve heard international schools aren’t worth the cost and are mainly for the kids of rich expats. I’ve also heard that ones with English (only?) programs don’t teach Japanese very well so you’d have to make sure your kid learns kanji on their own.
But when considering the cost, both private and international tend to have children from similar economic backgrounds. Children who are already enrolled in the school don’t have to study for entrance exams either, so no need for juku usually (unless they want to go to a Japanese university). Most private schools are escalator schools and some have a university attached to them as well. This means students will automatically get into the university, so no juku at all! (Some might have a test but the pass rate is ridiculously high.) A friend of mine in Tokyo went to a school like this and she’s doing well.
At an intl school, your child may also be surrounded by people from similar (multi)cultural backgrounds. It would make it easier for them to go to a university abroad or transfer to a school abroad as well, especially if they go to an accredited international school associated with that country (like Canada or America). At the same time, you need to make sure it’s recognized by the Ministry of Education in Japan so that your child has the option to go to a Japanese university as well. I’ve heard of students at some international schools having trouble with this when trying to apply to a national Japanese university because their school wasn’t recognized, but they also couldn’t apply as an international student because they lived in Japan.
I will say that at my previous job, I organized an event once a year for high schoolers from international schools across Japan and I was quite impressed with the students from some of them. They blew the Canadian undergraduates I taught as a TA out of the water!
Now, when it comes to whether these schools are better than public, it depends. There are good public schools and bad international/private schools and vice versa. So you need to do some research. My husband went through the Japanese public school system and he has no complaints, and he’s doing well for himself. But then again, he’s ethnically Japanese. However! I taught at a public high school in the inaka for three years where there were some bicultural kids and they were totally fine. Very bright and happy kids. Many of my former students are quite successful now and some are living abroad!
Oh, I should also mention that my coworkers kept telling me to send my kid to an international school so I wouldn’t have to do annoying things like PTA.
what age do you think is best to start if so? Kinder, grade school, jr high or high?
Before we decided on having A go to a private school, we thought we would have her try public and then move her to an international school if she’s struggling. It’s important to check the entrance requirements though, such as whether there’s a test or how many new students they accept each year.
If you’re thinking private, it’s best to try to send them as early as possible because they’ll have to take an entrance exam to get in.
approx cost? I know this would vary but just wondering if anyone has experience.
International schools vary, but the ones we looked at started at 2.5-3 million yen a year. I’ve heard of some being around 1.5 million but I don’t think they’re the more well-known/reputable ones.
Private schools are around 1 million and up.
If you are strongly thinking of a second child, would that play into your decision making process a lot?
I hope someone else can answer this! (But if I had a second kid, public school all the way!)
Hi DD!
That’s excellent news! Hooray for thoughtful and kind parents who teach that to their kids!
That sounds so fun! I hope to do something similar at my new place.
Sorry for the late reply, DD!
Oh man, this has my blood BOILING. If you’re overprotective for that then I am as well (I told off a kid for pushing A’s hand out of the way when she was playing with a toy at Toys R Us.)
That man was RUDE and clearly isn’t teaching his child good manners. I told my husband about it and he said that the father is an idiot (アホ).
When my daughter was younger, actually probably around Shimi’s age, so many parents would tell their child to be careful or wait if Anzu was around because she’s younger than them (赤ちゃんがいるよ！気をつけて！”).
Now that A is three, my husband and I absolutely tell her to be careful around younger kids. If there’s a small toddler going up the stairs of a slide, I usually direct my daughter to play with something else until the slide is free. Now she does it on her own!
Unfortunately, I think there are idiot parents out there who don’t think kids are old or smart enough at a certain age to be careful around others. It’s sad, really.
Aww, it must have melted your heart to see her playing with her friend! Given the pandemic and then being working parents, it can be really hard to find opportunities to see your child interact with others. This is why it’s amazing to be able to attend an observation day at daycare! I’m so happy to hear that the teachers are great as well.
I hope my daughter’s yochien has something similar, we missed her Sports Day and felt really bummed about it.
If she’s showing interest, there’s no harm in trying! My friend’s son is turning 2 in January and he’s already almost entirely toilet-trained! All kids are different, though. We started toilet training A when she was two I believe…
Hi DD! Sorry about the late reply, I was back in Tokyo for a bit.
How did it go? Tell us all about it!
I’m so sorry to hear that, DD! We looked at all the options just like you and in the end building seemed to work best for us as we couldn’t find a house we liked otherwise, so keep your eyes peeled in all directions! It can be really time-consuming (it was all we did for… two years I think?) but we’re happy with the end result.
Feel free to ask any questions if you have any!
