a day ago
Some child care facilities in Japan replacing Father's Day, Mother's Day with 'family day'
TOKYO -- Father's Day, which falls on June 15 this year in Japan, is approaching. However, an increasing number of day care centers and kindergartens across the country are establishing "family day" instead of celebrating Father's Day and Mother's Day.
This shift seems to be driven by the diversification of family structures, including the rise in single-parent households.
"I was really happy that they were considerate of each family's situation," and, "Since we don't have a dad, it was appreciated," are some of the posts from single parents on social media expressing gratitude for the switch to family day.
Asahi Hoikuen day care center in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, transitioned to family day three years ago. Previously, for Mother's Day in May and for Father's Day in June, children would handcraft items such as keychains and magnets with portraits of their parents and present them as gifts. Now, these activities are combined and held in late May, between Mother's Day and Father's Day.
The switch was prompted by the need to revise events and activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The day care center explained, "We have both single-mother and single-father households. We considered the recent diversification of family situations. The children create gifts not only for their parents but also for their grandparents, relatives, and even mom's friends, whoever is important to them."
10% of households with kids are single-parent families
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of single-parent households increased from 947,000 in 1993 to 1,399,000 in 2003, a 1.5-fold rise. Since then, the number has stabilized between 1.3 million and 1.4 million, with 1,344,000 single-parent households in 2021. About 10% of child-rearing households are single-parent families.
Poppins Nursery School, a nationwide day care chain, also has multiple facilities that have adopted family day. In late May or June, these centers organize activities such as making gifts for loved ones and displaying family photos.
Meanwhile, some child care facilities continue to observe Father's Day and Mother's Day. On social media, single parents have shared diverse opinions, such as "For Father's Day, my child drew a portrait of me (mother) and made a letter for me," and, "(Though I am a single parent,) I would prefer they stick to the traditional format without catering to minority family types."
There are varied perspectives, and responses from day care centers and kindergartens seem to differ accordingly.
Some commercial facilities and libraries that traditionally displayed children's drawings of their parents on Mother's Day and Father's Day are now moving toward displaying "family pictures" collectively.
For example, the Omori-Minami Library in Tokyo's Ota Ward has integrated these displays for Mothers' Day and Father's Day into a "family portrait exhibition" starting in 2023. They showcase family drawings created by visiting children from May to June.
A library representative said, "The change reflects the fact that there are now many different types of families."
(Japanese original by Shuji Ozaki, Digital News Group)
