Old Enough
If you were 2.5 or 3 years old, would your parent give you directions, send you off to run a few kilometers to your destinations? Hell, no. Japanese parents assign children to do dismal work? Ready? Set? Go?
It is difficult to describe.
" It doesn't always go smoothly. They run into the occasional accidents. Every time they nearly fail, I find
myself tearing up and desperately hoping they can overcome.
When they do
conquer the errand, I feel the deepest sense of pride I have ever known
in my years of life, an emotion I imagine only parents are normally
privy to. Usually, this is also when my tears that had been building up
for the length of the episode will actually cascade over in pure joy." One Enough
But Japanese parents have defended the show's portrayal -- while noting it might not reflect life in all parts of the country.
"What
you see on the show may seem entertaining but it definitely isn't
staged," "Parents (in
those cities) will usually wait until their kids are much older before
allowing them to go out and do things on their own without any
supervision."
"Of course, like anything on the internet, we can't just be happy
about this beautiful baby show. Some viewers were also quick to point
out how this could only be possible in Japan, a country we here in the
West perceive to be so much safer and designed with such better city infrastructure that these wee tots can toddle to the supermarket unsupervised"
Just a note: The families are part of their community. Families watch them by the sidewalk, help them, laugh. There is nothing I could compose to capture this amazing tantalizing accuracy. In other words, there is no way I could take this on.
But, you know what, that's not what Old Enough! is here for —
at least, that's what I'm choosing to believe. The show isn't supposed
to make us reckon with how much better and safer Japan might be. It's
here to spotlight some really stinkin' cute kiddos walking around in
squeaky shoes while doing some mundane errands and making my entire
freaking day. So please, forget about whatever work you may be doing and
go watch this show, now made extra bingeable by Netflix's global
platform."
Pinky promise, I won't tell your boss.