Hi,
We will be moving to Kashiwa with my toddler noy very soon. He has been to daycare since he was 6 months old, and he is a very social child. It is very difficult to keep him busy at home.
Our plan for the first 6 months in Japan is that I look after him at home (daycare is not an option since I will be unemployed for a while)
I do not speak Japan. What are the ways to help my child socialize with other kids? If I take him to a playground, would it be a way to help him make friends or would lack of speaking Japanese be a problem? I have seen that there are some international daycare available but the prices are too high for us to afford.
I just want his social skills to continue to improve, and communicating and spending time with other kids is extremely important, which is making me really worried that not knowing the language will be a problem.
by No-Card-7551
5 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Ideas to socialize with a toddler in Kashiwa**
Hi,
We will be moving to Kashiwa with my toddler noy very soon. He has been to daycare since he was 6 months old, and he is a very social child. It is very difficult to keep him busy at home.
Our plan for the first 6 months in Japan is that I look after him at home (daycare is not an option since I will be unemployed for a while)
I do not speak Japan. What are the ways to help my child socialize with other kids? If I take him to a playground, would it be a way to help him make friends or would lack of speaking Japanese be a problem? I have seen that there are some international daycare available but the prices are too high for us to afford.
I just want his social skills to continue to improve, and communicating and spending time with other kids is extremely important, which is making me really worried that not knowing the language will be a problem.
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I know there’s a Chiba international Facebook group that has members with kids near Kashiwa. Look up the Foreigners in Chiba group on FB.
This is literally what the park is for. Don’t worry about the language barriers, as toddlers certainly aren’t known for their thoughtful, in-depth conversation anyway. Teach them the basics (hello, thanks, sorry, excuse me) and send them on their way. I have a 5 year old who is also *very* sociable. Japanese kids are very nice and helpful, and the friends she’s made have gone out of their way to help teach her Japanese.
Look into your local area’s jidokan– they are community/place centers for parents with small babies and toddlers. You can meet other parents, and even if the language is an issue, some smiling and a few words will likely help.
Your local city hall/ward office can tell you more about the locations. If your city hall has an “international lounge” or similar they will have more information about other opportunities too.
Don’t worry about the language with toddlers. Even native Japanese toddlers might not be speaking that much anyway– kids mostly point and smile and whatnot at that age. Also, as toddlers many will still mostly be doing parallel play and might not be interacting that much.
Parks and children’s centers (jidoukan) are great places to meet other kids. If you live in Kashiwa, you’ll probably meet other foreigner families too, as I hear it’s quite international.
How old is your toddler? I hear young kids don’t quite play together until a certain age.
My daughter met some good Japanese friends at a park, and later they ended up in the same kindergarten. When they first met around age 3, they couldn’t communicate with each other using words but could still kinda play together at the playground.