Author: Seiichi Sato | Editor-in-Chief, TamagoDaruma

Have you noticed your child heading out to meet friends with a sticker book lately, or talking about how “this sticker has a high rate”? “Shiru-katsu”—collecting, sharing, and swapping stickers—is spreading among elementary-school children. It can look like nothing more than gathering cute stickers, but in practice the back-and-forth between kids (“which one should I trade?” “I don’t want to give this one up” “how many will you swap for this?”) has become part of the culture too. There’s no need to be overly worried about sticker swapping itself. At the same time, a few basic boundaries—”only trade your own…

In 2026, Jugoya (the mid-autumn harvest moon, or Chushu no Meigetsu) falls on Friday, September 25. This year the harvest moon and the full moon do not land on the same day: the full moon comes two days later, on Sunday, September 27. You’re picking up your child in the evening, getting dinner ready, and it suddenly hits you — “wait, when is Tsukimi this year?” For plenty of families, seasonal events arrive in the middle of exactly that kind of rush. Tsukimi (moon-viewing) can sound like a lot: moon-viewing dumplings, susuki grass, a craft to make, and so on.…

Japan’s parental leave take-up rate for men has passed 50% for the first time. In its fiscal 2025 survey, released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) on July 31, 2026, the take-up rate for men reached 50.9% — up 10.4 points from 40.5% the year before, and the highest on record. On the same day, a separate survey of younger adults showed a gap: among parenting-age respondents, 38.4% want to split housework and childcare “50:50,” while only 20.8% actually do. Fathers taking parental leave is clearly becoming normal. But that is not the same thing as housework…

“I understand maybe half the words my kid uses.” “Sticker books are popular again?” “What does meroi mean—I keep hearing it.” Trends among elementary-school children change fast, and a fair amount of it is hard for parents to see. In 2026, trends among Japanese elementary-school children, as well as girls in elementary and junior high school, have centered on sticker books, Bonbon Drop stickers, characters, and words spreading from social media and music. Heading into fall, collecting-and-sharing activities such as the “okashi-cho” (snack book) are drawing attention too. That said, you have to be careful about lumping everything together as…

If your child owns a squishy toy, you may be wondering whether it’s safe to keep using. On August 5, 2026, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about fake and counterfeit squishy toys, along with a dangerous social-media practice of heating squishies in the microwave. The bottom line first: do not intentionally heat a squishy toy in a microwave, near a heater, or with any other heat source. And this announcement does not mean that “all squishy toys are dangerous.” The CPSC says it stopped 55 shipments—355,683 units in total—of violative squishy toys from entering the…

Maybe your child suddenly announced they want a “Mellojoy,” and that was the first you’d heard of it. When a trend seems to appear overnight through social media or friends, parents are often left wondering: What is this? Where do you buy it? Is it okay for my child to play with? Mellojoy is a squishy — a soft, squeezable toy — described as originating in China. In 2026 it landed at #2 in a trend survey of elementary and middle-school students, making it one of the toys that defines what kids are into right now. Because it’s a popular…

When a child says “I want to use an app called setlog,” many parents pause. Unlike Instagram or TikTok, it isn’t a name most adults recognize, which makes it hard to judge what kind of social app it is or whether it’s okay to let a child use it. setlog is a social app that lets you record short everyday videos, share them with friends, and keep a Vlog-style record of your day. Google Play shows over one million downloads, and the app is offered for users aged 13 and older.（Source：setlog – Apps on Google Play | Google Play） That…

“I finally bought the toy I wanted as a kid, now that I’m an adult.” “I stopped at a capsule-toy machine with my child — and somehow I’m the one who ended up collecting.” If any of that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. One factor behind the toy market’s growth, even as the number of children falls, is rising demand from adults buying toys for themselves — “kidult” demand. According to the Japan Toy Association, the domestic toy market in fiscal 2025 reached 1.1664 trillion yen (about ¥1.17 trillion) at manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, up 6.3% year over year.…

Tamagodaruma, a media platform providing practical information on parenting, childcare, and family support, has joined the “Tomoiku Project,” a public awareness initiative of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as a media partner. In support of the project’s mission, Tamagodaruma will share information on balancing work and family life, events, research findings, and other resources related to “Tomoiku”—the idea of raising children together at home, in the workplace, and across society—in ways that are practical and relevant to families. What Is the “Tomoiku Project”? The “Tomoiku Project” aims to create a society in which no single person is left…

Babies reach spoken language on their own timeline. A good starting point for introducing Japanese sounds is playing with easy-to-copy ones like “pa” and “ma,” together, through picture books and songs. You may be wondering when babies usually start using words, whether picture books can support language development, or whether it’s normal that your baby isn’t using words yet. Multilingual families in Japan may have an additional question: how do you introduce Japanese sounds without pushing aside the language your family uses most naturally at home? But reading through that information can end up making you more anxious instead. A…

More and more days now, you step outside and think “it’s already hot” the moment you leave the house. Pushing a stroller, carrying your baby in a carrier—wondering “is my child actually okay right now?” is a common worry when you’re raising a child between 0 and 3. For heat-related illness in babies and toddlers, the basic approach is to watch for changes in face color, sweating, behavior, urination, and responsiveness—and when in doubt, stop outdoor play or stroller outings. Babies and young children can’t fully put “I’m hot,” “I feel sick,” or “I want to stop” into words on…

“The Art of Loving” treats love not as a feeling, but as a skill you keep learning. In parenting, this means seeing your child as a person in their own right—not as an extension of yourself. You tell yourself it’s “for your child’s own good”—and then find yourself getting too involved in their homework, or becoming increasingly involved in their friendships or decisions about their future. Have you ever caught yourself doing this and felt a flicker of unease about it? That’s not unusual at all. You worry because you care. You want to step in ahead of time because…