journal features

the daycare journal

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one 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

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

—Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.