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the daycare journal

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2009.04.21

I have no idea what city-run daycare is like in Canada, if it even exists. But here in Shinagawa City within Tokyo, it's pretty comprehensive.

It's more like a very junior school than daycare, and even comes complete with a daily journal of how your child did during the day. Ken's journal details what he ate, when and for how long he napped, and what he did during playtime. It's got: his height (80cm) and weight (11kg); the use of any new words; his interactions with the other children; and what he likes to play with (trains, trains, and trains).

The daycare also asks us to fill in details every morning before he goes to the daycare: his body temperature; the nature of his unchi (poo); how he slept (these days, fitfully, with many nightly wakeups); and what he ate for breakfast (these days, not much). Today I had to explain that while he had a bit of a high temperature early in the morning, it had cleared up by the time I had to decide whether to take him in for the day or keep him. The 'teachers' were happy for the report and said they'd keep an eye on him.

Overall, I'm impressed with the thoroughness. But I hope that it's something that only lasts for these early times and is not a long-term requirement. Records are well and good but honestly I don't know what the point of these permanent recordings are. Hopefully it's just for the sake of recording our boy's life and isn't something that has to come up when we're trying to get him into a school some day.

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force