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

When it comes to parenting information, the question is less “where do I look?” and more “what criteria am I using to choose?” Sorting sources into official public information, practical everyday media, and community-based content — and using each one for the right kind of question — makes it easier to find what you need without collecting more than you can actually use. Search terms like “parenting resources in Japan,” “parenting apps in Japan,” “Japan parenting blogs,” or “parenting YouTube channels in Japan” return a large number of results. That can feel helpful at first — but the more sources…

Japan’s babysitting market was estimated at approximately ¥32 billion nationwide in 2020, with projections of ¥64.7 billion by 2025 and ¥100 billion by 2030. These figures are based on market forecasts derived from Poppins Holdings IR materials, not from official government statistics. Separately, Yano Research Institute has reported Japan’s broader baby-related business market at ¥4.657 trillion for 2025. This figure covers a wide range of sectors — baby products, food, clothing, toys, licensed daycare centers (hoikuen), babysitter services, and more — and should not be read as equivalent to the babysitter-only market.(Source: Q. Babysitter market projected at ¥100 billion —…

The hardest stages of parenting aren’t determined by your child’s age alone. While the 0–3 period and the transition into elementary school tend to pile on the pressure, what makes any given phase feel unbearable varies enormously — depending on how much sleep you’re getting, whether you feel isolated, how work is going, and what support you have at home. “I’m almost at my limit.” “I just need to be alone.” “I need a break.” If those thoughts brought you to this article, here’s the first thing we want to say: feeling this way does not make you a bad…

Hand, foot and mouth disease, herpangina, and pool fever each present differently — and each has different return-to-daycare guidelines. Check for fever pattern, rash location, and eye symptoms. Every summer, families with children in hoikuen (licensed nursery schools) or yochien (kindergartens) across Japan start receiving notices: “A case of hand, foot and mouth disease has been confirmed.” “We’re seeing more children with herpangina.” “Please be aware of pool fever in the community.” You may have heard these names before, but when your child actually develops a fever, starts refusing food because of mouth pain, or breaks out in blisters on…

PR | WEL-KIDS Co., Ltd. This article introduces a free webinar co-hosted by WEL-KIDS Co., Ltd. and TMI Associates. Japan’s Child Sexual Violence Prevention Act will take effect on December 25, 2026. The law is often described as Japan’s new DBS-style system, drawing a comparison with the UK’s Disclosure and Barring Service. For childcare and education professionals outside Japan, the law offers an important example of how Japan is building a more systematic framework for preventing sexual violence against children. For operators working in Japan, it also raises an urgent practical question: what should each organization prepare before the law…

On rainy days — especially during Japan’s rainy season — many parents know the feeling: reaching for the phone and searching, “it’s raining again today, what do we do?” Look up indoor play ideas and you’ll find endless lists. But by the next morning, you’re right back in the same spot. That repetition wears you down, little by little. This article gives you a simple way to break that loop: a ready-made system for choosing what to do. We’ve sorted activities by age, by time, and by how much energy you have left as a parent, and we’ve also prepared…

Your child suddenly starts saying “gugu gaga!” They keep watching videos of a penguin-like character on TikTok and YouTube Shorts. For parents wondering “What is this? Is it okay to let them watch?”, this article lays out what the Gugugaga Penguin meme is and how to keep an eye on it at home. The Gugugaga Penguin is a social-media meme featuring a penguin-like character that’s been making the rounds on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and similar platforms. Some of the spin-offs appear to be AI-generated or AI-assisted, while others may be edited, reposted, or fan-made, but whether to let your child…

For international families raising children in Japan, situations come up often enough: “I’d like to leave my child for just a short while,” “I want to find a babysitter I can communicate with in English,” “I’d like to use temporary childcare other than daycare.” But in Japan, the practice of casually asking a neighborhood student or an acquaintance to babysit — common in some countries, including many English-speaking ones — isn’t yet the norm, and the types of services, the pricing, how to book, the contract relationships, and the points for checking safety can be hard to figure out. On…

June in Tokyo often overlaps with the start of the rainy season (tsuyu), so rainy and cloudy days become more frequent. Even when you think “I’d like to take the kids somewhere,” a rainy day means thinking through travel, meals, toilets, nursing, diaper changes, and even nap timing — and just choosing where to go can wear you out. So in this article, we’ve organized rainy-day outing spots near Tokyo that are easy to visit with children in June 2026, not as single venues but as “indoor-friendly areas where a parent and child can comfortably spend half a day.” We…

“My child wants to use ChatGPT, but I’m not sure whether I should allow it.” We’re hearing this from parents more and more. After the smartphone, the next judgment call today’s parents are facing is the one around generative AI. Letting children use generative AI isn’t something that should be banned across the board, nor something to allow unconditionally. By checking three things — the child’s age, the terms of use of the service being used, and the purpose of that use — you can build a standard for your own household to judge by. This article pulls together a…

Kewpie’s baby food line is scheduled to end production at the end of August 2026. Since sales will wind down store by store as stock runs out, a more realistic response than panic-buying is to organize the details — your child’s age, eating stage, food texture, allergy labeling, and where you plan to use it — and then trial alternatives in small amounts. Plenty of families have leaned on Kewpie’s baby food over the years. A trip away from home, an evening when daycare pickup ran late, a meal on a day when someone wasn’t feeling well — this is…

For children at daycare (hoikuen) or preschool (yōchien), heat illness prevention becomes clearer when you split it into three stages: before drop-off, during the day at daycare or preschool, and after pick-up. Breaking it down this way shows exactly what your family can prepare for at home. From late May into June, as hot days become more frequent, plenty of parents feel “this is the year I’ll really get prepared.” In reality, though, the first thing that comes up is usually uncertainty: “How much should I actually do?” “How much is okay to ask the teachers?” “Is that unusual tiredness…