“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 “what’s popular with elementary schoolers.” The surveys published in 2026 include ones aimed at elementary-school girls, ones combining elementary and junior-high students, and ones covering teens as a whole. The real trends also shift by school, grade, gender, and friendships.
This article draws mainly on the latest 2026 surveys—Shinchosha’s Girls Lab, a reader community for its magazines nicola and Nico☆Puchi, and Shogakukan’s JS Lab (JS stands for joshi shōgakusei, elementary-school girls)—and organizes them while keeping “trends the surveys confirmed” separate from “movements to watch.”
Rather than a simple popularity ranking, we’ll think through why something is popular now and how parents can understand and respond to these trends, with the perspective of the TamagoDaruma editor woven in.
Table of Contents
What’s trending with Japanese elementary schoolers in fall 2026?
In 2026, analog play centered on sticker swapping is popular at the same time as characters and words spreading from video, social media, and music. One defining pattern is discovering something online, then enjoying it offline with friends.
The Girls Lab survey that Shinchosha ran from April 17–19, 2026 covered 512 elementary and junior-high members. It looked at a wide range of genres—slang, characters, YouTube, apps, fashion, food, and other things and activities.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
15 fall 2026 trends among elementary schoolers
Based on the published 2026 surveys, here are the trends worth having on your radar, organized into 15 items.
| Trend | Genre | Trend status | What parents should know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sticker books / sticker swapping | Play | Confirmed | Not just collecting—swapping and talking with friends is part of the play |
| 2. Bonbon Drop stickers | Stickers | Confirmed | Known for their puffy, three-dimensional design and translucent finish |
| 3. Okashi-cho (snack book) | Play | Rising | Arranging actual sweets in a file or album to enjoy |
| 4. Mejirushi accessories | Goods | Confirmed | The fun of decorating your belongings in your own style |
| 5. Monchhichi | Character | Confirmed | A nostalgic character for many parents, now enjoying renewed popularity |
| 6. Hello Kitty | Character | Confirmed | A staple character supported across generations |
| 7. Tamagotchi | Character | Confirmed | Popular even among upper-elementary girls |
| 8. Puppet Sunsun | Character | Confirmed | A character with strong ties to video and social media |
| 9. Chiikawa | Character | Confirmed | First place in a survey of older-grade elementary girls |
| 10. Himitsu no AiPri: Mitsuki | Character | Confirmed | First place in a survey of younger-grade elementary girls |
| 11. “~ sugite metsu!” | Slang | Confirmed | An expression that spread along with M!LK’s song |
| 12. “Sore na” | Slang | Confirmed | Still used as a way to express agreement |
| 13. “Meroi” | Slang | Confirmed | Used when feeling strongly drawn to something or someone |
| 14. Himahima Channel | YouTube | Confirmed | First place in Girls Lab’s YouTube category |
| 15. BeReal. | App | Confirmed | First in the app category of an elementary-junior-high girls’ survey. But usage conditions need separate checking |
What matters here is that this is not a ranking saying “all 15 of these are popular with every elementary schooler nationwide.”
For example, Shinchosha’s Girls Lab is a survey of a girls’ community that includes both elementary and junior-high students. Shogakukan’s JS Lab, on the other hand, targets elementary-school girls—so even the same “trend” has a different survey population behind it.
This article reads the data with those differences in the underlying groups in mind.
How did we decide “confirmed,” “rising,” and “predicted”?
At TamagoDaruma, we don’t judge something to be “a huge hit with elementary schoolers” just because we saw it on social media.
- Confirmed: the name or ranking can be verified in 2026 surveys aimed at elementary or elementary-junior-high children
- Rising: flagged in a survey as “likely to trend next,” or currently showing visible growth
- Predicted: the editorial team’s projection based on multiple signals. Marked separately from fact
The okashi-cho in particular took first place in the Girls Lab survey’s “things likely to trend next,” so we’re treating it as a trend to watch heading into fall 2026.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
When a child says “everyone has one,” searching for a national ranking alone may not give you the answer. For that child, “everyone” may mean a few kids in class or their close friends.
Trend data helps you see the bigger picture, but what matters most is why your own child likes something.
The biggest trend of 2026 is “sticker books” and swap culture
One thing that symbolizes 2026’s children’s trends is sticker books and sticker swapping. Even for a generation for whom phones and video are close at hand, hands-on activities like collecting, touching, and swapping with friends have a strong presence.
In Girls Lab’s “other things and activities that trended in the first half of 2026,” “sticker books / sticker swapping / Bonbon Drop stickers” took first place.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
Sticker books and sticker swapping
The fun of a sticker book isn’t just sticking stickers down and saving them.
“This one’s my favorite, so I won’t trade it,” “I want to collect the whole series,” “What would you trade for this sticker?”—deciding what a sticker is worth, organizing a collection, and negotiating trades with friends are all part of the fun.
Many in the parent generation may have swapped stickers too. But the children of 2026 aren’t reproducing exactly the same culture as back then.
They learn about new stickers from video, social media, and store shelves, pick them up in person, make a sticker book, and swap with friends. What’s characteristic now is that online discovery and offline play feed into each other.
Bonbon Drop stickers
Bonbon Drop stickers are known for a puffy, three-dimensional look and a translucent finish. In the first-half 2026 Girls Lab survey, they were also listed alongside “sticker books / sticker swapping” as a first-place item in the things-and-activities category.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
What you can’t overlook when thinking about their popularity is that it isn’t only the design—the three-dimensional feel, the gloss, and how they feel to the touch are part of the appeal.
They are no longer just stickers to look at; they become small collectible objects to touch, arrange, and gather. It’s one reason sticker popularity can’t be fully explained as just “a revival of old play.”
A trend to watch this fall: okashi-cho
One thing to watch especially heading into fall 2026 is the okashi-cho (snack book).
In Girls Lab’s “things likely to trend next,” the okashi-cho took first place.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
An okashi-cho is not simply a scrapbook of candy wrappers. The trend involves placing unopened, individually wrapped sweets and the like into the pockets of a file, or arranging them, to enjoy the look and the collection.
It has the same “collect, arrange, show off” fun as a sticker book, but it differs in that it handles food. Parents should also check expiration dates, storage conditions, allergy information, and any rules around swapping food with friends.
（Source：Let’s make the talked-about okashi-cho | Nico☆Puchi）
Editor’s note
Looking at 2026’s sticker books and okashi-cho, I hesitate to describe this simply as “digital-native kids going back to analog.”
It seems more natural to see it the other way: precisely because there’s a digital environment of social media and video, new ways of playing with physical objects can now spread quickly.
Learn about it digitally, hunt for it in stores, collect it physically, swap with friends. Digital and analog aren’t opposites—they circulate within a single kind of play.
Which characters are popular with elementary schoolers? Younger and older grades differ
In 2026’s character popularity, long-established characters remain popular alongside newer franchises. And among elementary-school girls, a clear difference in taste between younger and older grades has been confirmed.
Monchhichi, Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi
In Girls Lab’s first-half 2026 survey, the top “trending characters” were Monchhichi in first, Hello Kitty in second, and Tamagotchi / Puppet Sunsun in third.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
Some of these characters feel nostalgic to the parent generation, but to the children themselves they aren’t necessarily “old characters.”
If they meet a character through current products, videos, goods, or a friend’s belongings, then to that child, the character feels completely current.
A character can feel nostalgic to a parent and completely new to a child at the same time. That’s another interesting point in reading 2026’s trends.
“Himitsu no AiPri” is especially popular in the younger grades
JS Lab, run by the editorial teams of Shogakukan’s magazines Puchigumi and Ciao, has published a 2026 survey of elementary-school girls.
On favorite characters, the younger grades ranked “Himitsu no AiPri: Mitsuki” first, “Cinnamoroll” second, and “Sumikkogurashi” third. Four characters from “Himitsu no AiPri” made the top 10.
（Source：Do favorite characters and future dreams change too? JS Lab analyzes where elementary-school girls’ “likes” and “aspirations” stand now | Shogakukan AD POCKET）
This survey tallied 888 responses from Puchigumi readers or their families, and 1,000 from Ciao readers or their families.
In other words, even “popular with elementary-school girls” differs quite a bit between younger and older grades. If you’re choosing a gift, the child’s grade and what they actually watch or play with are more useful clues than a broad “elementary-school girls” ranking.
In the older grades, “Chiikawa” is first
In the same JS Lab survey, the older grades’ favorite character was “Chiikawa” in first. On top of that, long-loved characters like Tamagotchi and Pochacco also ranked highly.
（Source：Do favorite characters and future dreams change too? JS Lab analyzes where elementary-school girls’ “likes” and “aspirations” stand now | Shogakukan AD POCKET）
Shogakukan’s analysis also says that as children move up in grade, their points of contact with characters—anime, games, goods—widen, and shifts in taste appear.
Rather than grouping it as “if you’re in elementary school, this is what’s popular,” it’s easier to grasp real children’s culture by thinking that what children like—and how they express those preferences—changes with age.
What slang do 2026’s elementary schoolers use?
In the first-half 2026 elementary-junior-high girls’ survey, “~ sugite metsu!”, “sore na,” and “meroi” were the top slang. It’s not only new words—older expressions that have become part of everyday speech are still widely used too.
Girls Lab’s slang ranking was “~ sugite metsu!” first, “sore na” second, and “meroi” third.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
“~ sugite metsu!”
One expression that symbolizes the first half of 2026 is “~ sugite metsu!” (roughly, “so [X] I’m done for”).
In the same survey, M!LK took first in “trending people” and “trending idols,” and their song “Suki sugite metsu!” was tied for first in the “songs” category too.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
What’s interesting here is that the song’s popularity has spilled over into everyday speech as a phrase.
Parents don’t need to force themselves to use slang. Even just asking “Is that a word from a song?” can open a conversation about what music and videos your child is into.
“Sore na”
“Sore na” is used when agreeing with what someone says. It isn’t a brand-new word coined in 2026, but it still came second in the Girls Lab survey.
Slang doesn’t fully turn over every year. Some words settle into everyday conversation beyond a temporary boom.
“Meroi”
“Meroi” also made third in the same survey.
Generally, it’s used to express feeling deeply drawn to or charmed by someone or something. That said, the nuance of slang changes by community.
Rather than adults memorizing “correct youth slang,” asking the child themselves “when do you use that?” is more natural as parent-child conversation.
What’s popular on YouTube, TikTok, and apps?
Video and social media are important for understanding 2026’s elementary and junior-high culture, but an app being popular in surveys and a child actually being able to use it are two different things.
Video-driven trends like Himahima Channel
In Girls Lab’s “YouTube channels that trended in the first half of 2026,” first was “Himahima Channel,” second “HikakinTV,” and third “M!LK.” For “favorite influencer,” Himahima also came first.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
Video content today doesn’t just entertain.
Words, fashion, products, food, ways of playing—it’s also an entry point for discovering what to try next.
So when a child suddenly says a product name you don’t know, they didn’t necessarily hear it directly at school. Something a child sees in a video may quickly become part of classroom conversation and spread among friends from there.
BeReal., Instagram, TikTok
In Girls Lab’s first-half 2026 “trending apps,” first was BeReal., second Instagram, and third TikTok.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
However, this survey combines elementary and junior-high students. That doesn’t mean these are the top three apps used by elementary-school children specifically.
Also, each social app and service has usage conditions such as age. If your child says they want to use one, don’t judge by friends’ usage alone—check each service’s latest official terms and information for parents.
How much are elementary schoolers actually using social media?
In a survey NTT Docomo’s Mobile Society Research Institute ran in November 2025 of elementary and junior-high students and their parents nationwide, the share using any of LINE, TikTok, Instagram, X, BeReal., or Discord was 62% among older-grade elementary schoolers and 95% among junior-high students.
（Source：SNS use: 62% among older elementary schoolers, 95% among junior-high students | NTT Docomo Mobile Society Research Institute）
In other words, even among older elementary-school children, social media use is far from universal.
“Popular in class,” “knowing the name,” “having seen it in a video,” and “using it on your own account” are four different things.
At home, beyond the two choices of banning or allowing freely, it’s good to check points like these.
- What kind of service they’re using
- Who the settings let them interact with
- What becomes public when they post
- Whether personal information like photos or location is included
- Who to turn to if something goes wrong
- When and where the service can be used
Knowing a trend and judging the safety side need to be considered separately.
Why are 2026’s elementary schoolers “digital × analog”?
The key to understanding 2026’s elementary-schooler trends is not treating digital and analog play as opposites. A cycle has emerged where things learned about through video and social media are then actually collected, touched, and swapped with friends.
Learn about it on social media → collect it in real life
Today’s children’s trends can’t be neatly divided from the start into “social-media-born” or “school-born.”
For example: see a sticker in a video or in a store. Want it. Actually buy it. Stick it in a sticker book. Show friends. Learn about another product in a video again.
This way, trends now move continuously between online discovery and offline play.
So the idea that “if social media spreads, analog play will disappear” makes it harder to grasp today’s children’s culture.
Collecting, touching, and swapping still matter
Sticker books, okashi-cho, and mejirushi accessories have something in common.
The experience isn’t complete just by seeing the item on a screen—children choose for themselves, own it physically, arrange it, touch it, and sometimes swap with friends.
You can see it as: not just the object itself, but the conversations around it—”Do you have this?” “Which do you like?”—become part of the fun, too.
In Girls Lab, “things likely to trend next” had the okashi-cho, keyboard keyring, and squishies near the top. Different in form, they share the point that you can collect them, touch them, and enjoy them in your own way.
（Source：“2026 First-Half Trend Ranking” announced | Shinchosha Co., Ltd. / PR TIMES）
Today’s kids are reinventing the Heisei-era culture their parents grew up with
Monchhichi, Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi, sticker books.
Seen from the parent generation, it may feel like “the old things have come back again.”
But children aren’t reproducing the parent generation’s culture as-is.
The way they first meet Tamagotchi, the kinds of stickers, how they show friends—these have all changed. It’s closer to reality to say they’re reinterpreting those older trends through today’s social media, video, and character culture, while remaking them into their own generation’s “cute” and “fun.”
Editor’s note
The more technology and social media enter daily life, the more you’re tempted to think “children’s play will all go digital too.” But as far as 2026’s trends show, reality isn’t that simple.
Even as the digital environment develops, physical experiences like “having something you chose yourself,” “enjoying how it feels to touch,” and “swapping with friends on the spot” haven’t disappeared. If anything, digital media seems to be helping children discover new forms of hands-on play that then return to real-world experience.
This isn’t something you can conclude as “analog is trending because of digital fatigue.” But at least, not thinking of digital and real as separate worlds feels important for understanding today’s children’s culture.
Parents don’t need to memorize every trend. Try asking “What’s fun about that?” That one question can tell you more about what your child values than keeping up with every trend could.
Frequently asked questions about 2026 elementary-schooler trends
Elementary schoolers’ trends vary greatly by grade, gender, school, and friendships. Use the rankings as a reference for the big picture, and check the child’s own “likes” last.
- What’s the single most popular thing with elementary schoolers in 2026?
- There isn’t a single trend that can be called the most popular nationwide, but in Shinchosha Girls Lab’s first-half 2026 survey, sticker books / sticker swapping / Bonbon Drop stickers took first in the “other things and activities” category. It can be considered one of the trends that symbolize 2026.
- What’s popular with elementary-school girls in 2026?
- Sticker-related play and characters stand out. In Shogakukan JS Lab’s survey of elementary-school girls, the top favorite character was “Himitsu no AiPri: Mitsuki” in the younger grades and “Chiikawa” in the older grades.
- What’s popular with elementary-school boys?
- The latest surveys used mainly in this article center on elementary-school girls or elementary-junior-high girls. So we have not included a speculative 2026 ranking for elementary-school boys. Shogakukan also runs surveys aimed at elementary-school boys, such as the “Corocoro Comic Lab,” so that needs to be checked as separate data.
- Which characters are popular with elementary schoolers?
- In the Girls Lab survey including elementary-junior-high girls, Monchhichi, Hello Kitty, and Tamagotchi / Puppet Sunsun ranked highly. Limited to elementary-school girls, “Himitsu no AiPri: Mitsuki” is first in the younger grades and “Chiikawa” first in the older grades.
- What’s the 2026 slang among elementary schoolers?
- In the Girls Lab elementary-junior-high survey, “~ sugite metsu!”, “sore na,” and “meroi” rank highly. “~ sugite metsu!” is an expression that spread along with M!LK’s song “Suki sugite metsu!”
- What is an okashi-cho?
- It’s a game of putting unopened, individually wrapped sweets and the like into the pockets of a file, or arranging them, to enjoy the look and the collection. Because it handles food, care is needed with expiration dates, storage conditions, allergy labeling, and swapping with friends.
- Is it okay to let elementary schoolers use social media?
- You can’t decide “it’s fine to use because it’s popular.” Each service has usage conditions, so check the latest official terms, and talk over as a family the range of what’s public, contact with strangers, time of use, and how to seek help when there’s trouble.
- Is it okay to choose a gift from the trend rankings?
- Rankings help as a reference for finding candidates, but it’s best to check with the child in the end. Children can like the same character in very different ways—some want stickers, some want a plush, some are satisfied just looking.
If you’re unsure before buying a gift or a trending item, try asking: “Where did you hear about it?” “What do you like about it?” “Do you want to collect it, or play with it?” “Do you want to swap it with friends?”
Things you couldn’t tell from “What do you want?” alone—the reasons behind a child’s interest—can start to come into view.
Looking at 2026’s elementary-schooler trends, it isn’t only the latest social media and video—cultures of “having, collecting, touching, swapping,” like sticker books, Tamagotchi, Monchhichi, and the okashi-cho, have a big presence.
Parents don’t need to keep up with every trend.
It’s fine if there are words you don’t know, or characters you don’t recognize. Being able to ask “I don’t know that one—what do you like about it?” matters more.
At TamagoDaruma, rather than consuming children’s trends as a mere popularity ranking, we want to look further—at what children actually enjoy about these trends, how they relate to friends, and how they build their own sense of “like.”
Enjoy fall 2026’s trends too, as an easy way to start a conversation with your child.
