We've been watching a few episodes of a Japanese TV program that Netflix recently introduced to this country. It's called "Old Enough" and apparently has been very popular in Japan for a number of years now.
The premise is simple. Young children are given simple errands to run and are followed by a camera crew to see how they do. Some of the youthful participants are as young as 2 or 3 years of age. Japanese culture values independence and the ability to overcome challenges, hence the popularity of the show. We see, on occasion, that the kids are tailed by adults and cameramen on occasion so there is some sense of security. Nevertheless, there is something about watching a 2-year-old trying t cross a busy 4-lane street with nothing but a little yellow flag held out in front of him that gives one pause.
The show makes for some funny moments. Often the kids forget to get something from the grocery store and have to go back. They talk to themselves, get waylaid, drop packages, but often meet other helpful adults along the way. They get a lot of freebies from local merchants who seem to enjoy these young shoppers.
It occurred to me that this program could probably never be duplicated in this culture. The streets are too dangerous in many more ways, and many American merchants probably wouldn't want to be bothered to drop everything to help a kid who seems lost or confused.
Then there is the entire area of protection and overprotection of children. I can hardly see an American mother, especially one of the helicopter variety, allowing any child of hers to endure this type of character building. The entire concept is filled with cognitive dissonance.
What might be even more interesting than watching "Of Age" is to witness a panel discussion of parents from all over the world watching the show and commenting. There are moments of pure cuteness and adorability. That and the fact that the music and animation that comes with the production values make the program very comfortable to watch. They sure do like pink and yellow, orange, and turquoise blue in Japan.
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