Japanology Plus 2016-12-08 - Day Care for Kids torrent

Japan is known as a largely harmonious society, where great importance is placed on behavior that fits in with group norms.

Orderly queuing is a part of everyday life, even when using the often-crowded mass transit networks of the large urban centers; table manners are generally impeccable; and bowing to show respect to one’s counterparts is so much second nature that people even do it when talking on the phone.

As we discovered in episode #20 in this series of Japanology Plus, high school club activities provide a grounding for teens and tweens in the ideals of cooperation and social etiquette that will prove indispensable in adult life, especially upon entering Japan’s rigidly hierarchical workforce.

But the training in social mores begins even earlier, often at the day care facilities that look after preschool-age children while their parents are at work.

Here the little ones learn to line up and wait patiently, return greetings, tidy and clean their classroom, dress themselves, and put away their things