Most families in Japan follow the same template for familial existence: dump your kids off at daycare from the time they are 6 months to one year old, and resume working, with the kids going to daycare/kindergarten until it is time for them to transition to public schooling.
My family is not taking that route, and I will be honest, it's not easy. With no support network of grandmothers and grandfathers, close friends and relatives, my wife and I basically take "shifts" playing with my son, while the other one attempts to get work done in building a new career as an entrepreneur/creator.
I live in Japan, so of course being from America, my parents are thousands of miles away. My wife's parents are Japanese, but they live in another prefecture about 4 hours away.
Our friends here are busy and working like us, and finding unschooling families in Niigata is kind of like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. If I had more cash, I would probably head down to Tokyo or Okayama, where there are some great free schooling/unschooling projects going on, and families I could network with.
So how do I deal?
Well, I won't sugar coat it. Some days it is very hard and I get very down, very stressed, very scared, very worried, and kind of short-tempered.
My son is extremely (read: EXTREMELY) energetic, and requires a lot of one-on-one personal attention as all children do. This is actually part of the reason I am opposed to sending him to any state-sponsored "educational facility" such as a public school, because I have seen how quick teachers are to label kids as having ADHD, being "learning disabled," or my favorite..."slow."
These labels can send the kids they are applied to down a stigmatized path of heavy medications, boring classes, and worst of all, self-fulfilling prophecy.
The funny thing is, in my time spent working in public schools, most of the kids the teachers told me were "bad" or "slow" were extremely bright, and often times just bored. Even when there was some sort of disability apparent, these bright kids were often treated as animals, and not so much as human beings.
But, I digress. My son is definitely not "learning disabled in any way. He's just "super genki." "Genki" is the Japanese word meaning vibrant and energetic, full of vigor and the force of life.
Real shit to do when you need to get your kid out of the house: What we did today.
It's snowing here now frequently, and the wind is blowing. While I would be cool staying in our small apartment reading books and doing whisky reviews, my son, obviously is not. He is going fucking apeshit, for lack of a delicate phraseology. That's great, and I support that 100%, but damn it is hard when you are tired.
Today we managed by going out to the Power Komeri, a large home center like Menards or Home Depot here in Niigata. Isaiah likes to run through the aisles and "ninja fight." He also enjoys testing out the model living spaces by getting in the beds, answering the door, and bouncing from couch to couch. It stresses me out sometimes when the couch jumping gets a little too intense and staff are around, but within reason, I try to let him have fun and get his wiggles out.
Here are our photos from today:
An accidental snap walking into the store. This photo basically embodies what every day feels like!
The big aisles at Power Komeri.
Chillin' out in the home display.
Ha ha ha
The "play area" at the electronics store. Pretty sure everything was covered with influenza and dried snot, but hey, we got that genki spirit shield.
Snow mountain in the parking lot.
So yeah, we went from store to store and just farted around. Sometimes I felt extremely stressed, and some moments I enjoyed.
That's that.
My wife isn't a "traditional housewife" cooking and cleaning and taking care of everything all the time in regard to my son. She is a great mom, meeting all his needs, but as an entrepreneur involved in a few different businesses--centered around aroma therapy, massage, and holistic medicine--it is up to me to help as well, changing diapers, toilet training, cooking, etc. As a creative individual with a lot of drive to succeed financially and as an entrepreneur/creator as well, we often find ourselves fighting for time.
Nor are we that traditional family that dumps their kids off from day one at a daycare, works "normal" jobs and saves a bunch of money, going to Disney Land now and then. We are aiming to make our life our "vacation," doing fulfilling work and not just "looking forward to the weekend."
We are attempting to do everything all at once.
Probably the stupidest thing one could attempt to do, but here we are. The life of stamping the kid from the womb with an educational label and dumping them off with strangers, scraping to make a buck so we can buy some shit at Disney for two weeks once every two years just ain't for us. I know some people that seem really happy in their lives like this, and I mean no disrespect. Just...that path isn't for me.
So, here we are, with the wolves at the door barking for cash and baring their teeth, building a community in our city that don't exist, and trying to plant the seeds of an entrepreneurial and cryptocurrency-focused lifestyle that enables us to travel and provide our son with the financial security, diverse and interesting life experiences, and access to resources for his own education we think he deserves.
Thanks for reading!
(If you missed my last unschooling blog post, you can catch it here.)
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person.)