General information-the life of Japanese mums and babies
In Japan, many women choose to leave their place of work and look after their children at home until they reach three years old. During that time, mothers entertain and socialize their children by taking them to play parks, play centers, or by joining mother-baby learning classes. Some mothers choose to use public private babysitting services, while others may ask the baby’s grandparents to look after them.
Public Play Center (児童館 じどうかん jidokan)
Play centers are operated by the cities they are located in.
They have many playrooms and a ground for children from newborn through primary school years. Opening days and hours are usually on weekdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, but may vary depending on your city. Admission is free if you are a resident, while some centers charge a few hundred yen to non-residents.
Play centers sometimes offer play programs with parents. Since they do not have nursing staff, parents cannot leave their children unattended.
Each city should have at least one public play center. JHI is happy to help you find one near your home, free of charge.
Babysitters
Babysitting services are available from babysitting companies and personal babysitters.
It is uncommon for local governments to provide babysitting services. Because of this, the cost of a babysitter is quite expensive compared to public nursery services. The average price is about 1500 yen per hour.
Babysitters will come to your house. They play with your child, change diapers or help with the toilet, bathe and feed your child. However, most sitters do not prepare the food.
Keep in mind, if your child is sick they may not be able to look after your child. This is because babysitters are not nurses and cannot deal with medical emergencies.
Special nurseries and daycares for sick children are available in these situations. You must register with the facility before use, so we recommend you do so as early as possible so it will be available to you if and when needed. Contact us for details.
Baby and mum learning class
(youji kyoushitsu ＊幼児教室 ようじきょうしつ)
Various classes are available for children around six months old. Popular classes are baby massage, English, music, dance and gymnastic classes. These classes are run by private companies. Fees usually start at 2,000 yen per lesson for 60 minutes. Some classes require both parents to attend together.
*Note
There are also a number of schools called youji kyoushitsu (幼児教室 ようじきょうしつ). These are preparation schools for entrance to high-level private pre-schools and elementary schools.
Followings are the voices of Japanese mothers experienced various baby and mom classes
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Baby swimming
Age and sex of your child:
18 month-old boy.
For how long have you attended the class?
For 6 months.
How often and at what time is your class?
Once a week for one hour, 11:00 am to noon.
Fee:
6500 yen per month.
Pros:
He eats a lot and sleeps well after attending the swimming class.
He is not scared of water anymore, as he’s gotten used to it.
Cons:
He once got a fever the night after a swimming class.
Impression and reaction of your child:
He seemed to be nervous for the first several times, but he started to splash his hands in the water and do flutter kicks by himself.
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Age and sex of your child:
9 year old boy.
For how long have you attended the class?
For 2 years.
How often and at what time is your class?
Once a week for 75 minutes, from 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm.
Fee:
Enrollment fee of 5000 yen and 6000 yen per month for tuition.
Pros:
He would easily get cold before, but after attending the swimming class he has gained strength.
Cons:
His skin was sensitive to the pool water and he had skin troubles around his eyes many times.
Impression and reaction of your child:
I, as a parent, wanted him to continue the swimming class, but the problem was his sensitive skin. My son seemed to be happy, because he learned to crawl and to swim back stroke for 50 meters.
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Age and sex of your child:
7 month old boy.
For how long have you attended the class?
For 2 months now.
How often and at what time is your class?
Once a week for 40 minutes, from 10:30 am to 11:10 am.
Fee:
Enrollment fee of 3150 yen and 6825 yen per month for tuition.
Pros:
My child gained strength in his whole body.
Parents can have physical contact with their child.
You can make friends of different ages.
Cons:
The monthly fee is rather expensive.
Impression and reaction of your baby:
We started to attend the class when my son turned 6 months old. At first he hated to get his face wet, but not anymore. He seems to enjoy the course, and being in the water may feel refreshing to him. I hope to continue the classes so my son can strengthen his immune system.
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Children’s playcenter
Age and sex of your child:
11 month old girl.
For how long have you attended the class?
Several times.
How often is your class?
Twice a week for two to three hours.
Fee:
Free.
Pros:
Mothers are free to stay there while their children are playing.
There are many toys available.
Cons:
The children’s hall we went to was not very clean and the toys were fairly dirty.
They often hold events for children, but not ones enjoyable for 4-5 month-olds.
I wanted my daughter to experience play separated from me, but it was too dangerous to distance myself from her because there were bigger children playing in the same space.
Impression and reaction of your child:
I think how freely your child can play depends on which children’s hall you go to
It’s a good choice for mothers to relax and chat with one another without worrying about strangers.
My daughter was too small to show how she felt about the place.
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Language class
What have you experienced with your child?
A multilingual intercommunication course called “Hippo.”
Age and sex of your child:
11 month old girl.
For how long have you attended the class?
4 months old until now.
How often is your class?
Once a week.
It’s been difficult for us to attend lately, since I’ve gone back to work. We attend two or three times a month now.
Fee:
13,000 yen per month (for 3 members of family)
Pros:
Adults, children and babies can attend the class together.
The types of people who attend the classes are very active and child-friendly.
There are many international opportunities, including homestay.
Class gives first priority to the children.
Cons:
Classes are often held on weekdays, so it’s difficult for parents who have work
to attend it regularly.
Impressions and reaction of your child:
I think it’s very enjoyable if you feel comfortable in your class.
One thing that bothered me is that you have to buy CDs in addition to the monthly fee. It’s a necessary expense, but I still feel it’s a little too expensive.
It’s still a little early to know for sure, but my daughter seems to be getting used to seeing strangers.
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Baby Massage
Age and sex of your child:
11 month old girl.
For how long have you attended the class?
3 times.
How often and at what time is your class?
10:00-12:00.
Fee:
2000 to 3000 yen per class.
Pros:
You can feel relaxed.
You can meet and exchange information with other mothers.
It was easy to keep in touch with other participants because there were only a few people attending the class.
You can practice the techniques at home as well.
Cons:
Classes are often held on weekdays and so it’s difficult for parents who have work
to attend regularly.
Impressions and reaction of your child:
It seems to be difficult for children who are old enough to stand and move around, but my daughter seemed to feel relaxed. I heard some other babies slept well at night.
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Age and sex of your child:
10 month old (3 months old when he attended the course) boy.
For how long have you attended the class?
Once.
Length of class:
About 2 hours (15-30 minutes of massage).
Fee:
Free.
Pros:
Massage is a way to communicate with your baby and help them relax and feel safe.
Their skin gets stronger and stomach condition improves.
It can help your baby sleep better and night and you can develop mutual trust with you child.
Cons:
I was uneasy about the stickiness because we massaged our babies with oil.
A bit worried about the safety of the oil, although we were told it’s safe enough to eat.
Some babies urinated or defecated, because the massage lasted for a long time and babies were naked. Seeing that, I felt uneasy about massaging at home.
Impressions and reaction of your child:
We attended the baby massage class at our hospital about 3 months after birth. About 10 babies of the same age and their mothers were also there.
My son seemed to be happy, because he feels comfortable when he’s naked. He looked confused at first, but his face gradually became comfortable and relaxed. I was worried whether he could enjoy the massage before attending the course because he tended to be cranky while lying down, but he was always in a good mood until the end of the massage. He might also have felt more comfortable to see lots of other babies around him, because he likes to be around people.
The mothers were relaxed, although some babies started to cry or get cranky. The midwife told mothers, “You can hold or breastfeed your baby at any time, if your baby asks for it.” Some babies urinated or defecated, but the midwife told us, “That means your baby feels good. Praise them.” That made sense to me. And it’s not just the children, the mothers feel happy and relaxed by touching their baby’s body.
My son slept well after the massages, so I know they are beneficial. It’s difficult to find time to massage at home, although I would like to do it at home as well. And I was glad to have an opportunity to meet many new people.
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Baby Dance
Age and sex of your child:
11 month old girl.
For how long have you attended the class?
Since my daughter was 4 months old.
How often and at what time is your class?
Once a week from 10:00 am to noon.
Fee:
3000 yen per lesson.
Pros:
It’s a good opportunity for exercise, both for parents and children.
Cons:
It wasn’t as fun as I expected because it was low-intensity exercise.
Impressions and reaction of your child:
The music used for the dance differs each time. On the day when we participated, we danced along to slow music, so we weren’t very active and it wasn’t what I was looking for. But my daughter seemed happy as we danced and I held her.
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Balance Ball class
Age and sex of your child:
11 month old girl.
For how long have you attended the class?
Four times.
At what time is your class?
10:00-12:00.
Fee
10000 yen for four classes.
Pros:
You can get just the right amount of exercise, with the exercise getting progressively harder.
Communication work is also included in the program, not only exercise.
It was easy to get to know the other participants, as the classes were held in a series.
Only babies up to 4 months can attend the class, so mothers don’t need to be worry about the safety of their babies.
Cons:
It had only 4 consecutive classes. If you want to continue, you have to repeat the same program all over again.
It’s not kind of program you can along with your baby.
Impressions reaction of your child:
The best program for me was the one targeted for expecting mothers, with exactly the same content.
But this course was also satisfying, because it was rather high intensity training and the participants were active type of people with similar interests to me, and we could exchange instructive information.
Babies don’t participate in the class, but mothers can let them bounce with the balance ball if they get cranky. They seemed to enjoy that.
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