日本では小学校・高学年や中学生の女の子がお父さんと一緒にお風呂に入ったりするよ。と外国人の友人に話したら、目を丸くして驚いた。欧米では考えられないことだ。
　オーストラリアに住んでいたころ、三歳の息子と両親で川の字になって寝ていると話したら、「気持ち悪い！　やめて！　子供は別の部屋で寝かせるべきよ！」と強引に、親子を引き離された。その結果、息子は三歳から自分の部屋で寝る癖がついた。
　これは良いことか悪いことか。
　結果から見ると、独立心のおう盛な男の子になり成功だった。

PART THREE:
Outcome of Harmonism (4)

By Shun Daichi

2. Everyone Becomes Mediocre (2)
In Japan children are very spoiled and are not expected to develop their own individuality. Therefore most of them are very childish even at the age of 20.

However, it is very dangerous to generalize because it is human nature for people to seek their own identity and establish their own self and there are few who are very mature at a very young age in Japan.

Many Japanese children sleep with their parents in the same room until the age of 10 to 12, and take a bath together until they are nine to 13 years old.

Elementary school teachers encourage parents to take hot baths together with their children to maintain emotional ties until the age of 12 to 13.

It is safe to say that Japanese kids are not expected to get mature until the age of 16 or 18.

However, my son Maana was raised in Australia and was sleeping in his own room at the age of three and was used to baby sitters and being alone. In Japan we have no such thing as baby sitters.

"It is disgusting to see this boy name Jimmy Connors. He is just 18 but plays tennis with the maturity and cunning of an adult."

This was a true comment made by a leading Japanese tennis commentator. This is still the typical Japanese attitude toward young people. It seems as if the society does not want young people to get mature at the age of 18.

Why?

It is my own personal view that we wish the young to be childish because it enables the ruler of the country to rule society easier. If the young get mature quickly, then they have youth and energy with which they might change the society to their own liking.

Another question may be raised?

"Well, we thought Japanese kids are well disciplined and behave well compared to American kids."

Well, I agree that the Japanese kids might behave better in schools and in public because they are afraid of others' opinion of them. As I said, in the society of Harmonism everyone should do the same and behave the same, otherwise a kid will be very badly treated by the group.

There is tremendous pressure from teachers, families and fellow kids to behave the same in our society. However at home they behave like kings and queens.

Japanese kids may be very wild at home, especially if there have grandparents living with them. We used to have a tradition of living together with grandparents in a big family. That tradition remains to a lesser degree but the tradition of spoiling children at home remains.

I think this has been benefited older people and rulers of Japan.

(To be continued)