Table of Contents
- Parenting cartoon “Children and Community
- There are a lot of friends here! Let’s play in the “local” area with your father!
Parenting cartoon “Children and Community
Profile
Eiichi
After working for a design company in Tokyo, he became a freelance illustrator. He is a hard-working father who creates animation, manga, and illustrations, including winning the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival’s International Short Film Showcase Division Excellence in Animation Award.
There are a lot of friends here! Let’s play in the “local” area with your father!
Have you ever attended an event in your city?
Yes!” Dads who answered “Yes!” may be in the minority.
I just go back and forth between home and work on weekdays, and I don’t get to know my neighbors very well,
It is hard to show up at community events. ……
I would like to say a few words to such a dad.
Please come and play in the “local” area with your children!
There are many events for parents and children to enjoy together.
Moreover, the event itself is not only fun.
Dad has one more thing to look forward to.
It is a great way to meet senior dads who are hosting events and their peers who are raising children.
We want to make the city a safe place for our children to live.
We want to create a town where we can hear many children’s laughter.
If you interact with fathers who are working hard with this in mind,
It will definitely make childcare more enjoyable than it is now.
From a community event organizer
Message to Dad
So what activities are there in the community?
We interviewed people who are involved in a number of events for parents and children to learn more about their activities and the fathers who participate.
The Kodomo Gekijo Setagaya was established in 1974 in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, and for more than 40 years since then has been engaged in activities to enrich children’s sensibilities. It has provided opportunities to view children’s theater, opera, concerts, etc., and has held workshops and camps to encourage children’s expression.
Parents and children can participate in an appreciation event together.
Recently, more and more dads are coming to visit with us. And when they attend events, the dads get to know each other. There are many groups of dads who attended an event when their children were 0 years old and became good friends, and since then, they have continued to have a good relationship even after their children have grown up. Some of the dads have even formed a local youth baseball team as a result of participating in the event.
In particular, the magnificent “cardboard maze” created for the “Kodomo Gekijo Wakuwaku Theater” held every April is a heavy workload, and we often need the help of fathers. One of the dads who helped me build the maze later told me the following: “When I got home, the kids praised me for it. When I got home, my kids complimented me, saying, ‘It was cool to see you working so hard. Dad was really happy to hear that.
A spectacular cardboard maze that is very popular with children
It’s hard work, so dad plays a big role!
In addition to the “cardboard maze,” we consciously ask the fathers to do other things that they seem to be good at, such as setting up the venue and taking photos to document the event. It seems that when there are things they can do, it gives them a place to be and makes it easier for the dads to participate in the creation of the event.
As fathers become involved in creating events, they begin to focus not only on their own children, but also on the children around them, and they begin to see not only their own children, but also the children around them as “our children. I feel that this kind of change leads to the raising of children in the community as a whole.
The Minami Town Council in Shinagawa Ward plans and organizes more than 15 events a year for parents and children to enjoy together, such as portable shrines, Nagashi Somen, and Halloween. We are often told by the surrounding neighborhood associations that our neighborhood association is grateful to have so many parents of active child-rearing age participating in our events and activities. I think this is largely due to the fact that parents who originally grew up in the area invite people from other areas who they connected with at daycare centers and elementary schools to come and visit them.
Dads support the children’s portable shrines.
The town council regularly invites these new fathers to join us for drinks with other members of the town council who are of a similar generation. The fathers who have become friends in this way are now helping with their children’s portable shrines and carrying the mikoshi with the town council members.
Dads are indispensable to events where the local community comes together to enjoy themselves.
As dads attend events, they realize that festivals and events have many people to prepare and clean up, so now they will think about making time to participate themselves. In addition, they start bringing their dad friends they met at daycare or school. This is how the community thrives.
That said, for many busy dads, it is difficult to attend. So, first of all, we just want them to come and visit us when the timing is right. We just want them to have fun. We hope that the feeling of “I had a good time” will be the seed of interest in the local community.
Saki Chanchi” is a local children’s square. We hold various events such as storytelling and movie showings, and once a month a nurse provides consultation on children’s illnesses and health concerns. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, I strongly felt the importance of the daily connection between people living in the community to make it strong against disasters, and I was inspired by the fathers around me through my involvement in Fathering Japan, an NPO that supports fathers. I started this activity after being involved in Fathering Japan, an NPO that supports fathers.
Dads seem to be having fun at the Nagashi Somen event.
The five management members are all active fathers and mothers. They work together with volunteer staff members who gather for each event. Most of the time, dads come to play on weekends. I try to talk to the dads when they come. Some fathers don’t like to talk about things other than work, but they seem to open up as we talk.
Dads and moms gather at the salon.
There are many things that are unknown when just starting out in child-rearing, and I think fathers are anxious. At such times, I would like to encourage fathers to visit local events and places where parents and children gather. There you will meet other fathers in similar situations. Why don’t you share your problems with them and talk about them openly? I am sure you will find some hints. You will also gain courage. You will gain awareness by meeting dads, and they will change.
The organization was founded more than 30 years ago by a father who wanted to see more collaboration in the community, and a group of fathers who felt the same way.
Dads making mochi (rice cakes) at the Mochi Tsuki Festival
Many dads come to the annual Mochi Pounding Festival. The mochi pounding is done by members of the Dads’ Association of the local nursery schools. They actively talk to the dads who come to eat mochi. Before you know it, the dads who just came to eat rice cakes start making rice cakes together with the dads. I often see such a scene. Moms and kids seem to enjoy cheering on the dads as they pound omochi and taking pictures of them.
Many of today’s dads have no experience making mochi, and they leave happy, saying, “I just came here to eat, but it was fun making mochi. These dads will come back the next year.
Dads prepare for fireworks display to bring smiles to children’s faces
Full-scale fireworks display becomes an annual community event
Most of the core members are people whose children have already grown up. Nevertheless, they continue their activities because they feel that their own children were raised by the community. By working together with dads and moms who are still raising their children, we hope to pass on our know-how and our thoughts about the community. Now, the dads we were working with have started to hold events in other places as well. I hope to expand local child-rearing activities in this way.
In Tokyo, where many people move from other areas, many people feel that there are hurdles to making connections in the community.
However, if you take the first step and attend a community event, there are seniors there waiting for you who are working hard for the children of the community.
Meeting with seniors will inspire many fathers who have been shying away from the idea. They may even want to start working for their children and the community. Why don’t you try showing up at an event and see what you think?
