A light-hearted look at a different culture’s perspective on independence that will leave you giggling as little kids do “grown-up” errands!

In Old Enough!, children as young as three run errands for the first time on their own, without their parents, as a camera follows along behind. From grocery shopping to dropping off things at a friend’s house, the film crew catches the kids’ reactions as they explore their newfound independence, ranging from the very earnest and stressed to a little mischievous! The show, filmed in Japan and dubbed in English, features short episodes and is an insightful look into the very different cultural perspective on what children are able and expected to do.

I started watching this show mostly as background noise while I worked around the house, but I found that it was impossible not to get distracted by these brave little kids! I was surprised by how aware of their surroundings they were, and how they seemed to remember exactly where their parents bought things. Watching this show made me way more conscious of not underestimating what kids know! There are some really charming moments in this show, too. Like one kid remembered his mom’s favorite street food order and brought her back a ton, and a few of the kids are a little sneaky and stay out way longer than they need to. 

It was incredibly entertaining, but it was also interesting to see how differently parents related to their kids in Japan. I was shocked at first to see how young the kids were, but after watching it I really felt like the kids could be trusted and were safe. I think it will influence my eventual parenting style! It’s a sweet show and felt like the perfect break from the world, because the episodes are short and always end well.

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