How Can You Make Good Use of Kodomo Challenge?
Why this topic is on parents’ minds
Kodomo Challenge is a correspondence learning program for young children that Benesse Corporation has run since 1988. Together with the character Shimajiro, it is a very well-known set of materials in Japanese homes. The monthly fee is roughly in the ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 range, an easy price to start with among early childhood materials, and courses are offered by age (baby, Puchi, Pocket, Hop, Step, Jump, and so on).
If you subscribe, have you ever felt like this?
- “Every month, picture books and edutoys arrive. But I don’t know whether my child is really learning.”
- “It tends to end up as just putting on the videos or DVDs, and I’m uneasy about whether that’s OK.”
- “After a few days of play, my child gets bored with the edutoys, and they are soon pushed to the corner of the shelf.”
- “I read the picture books that arrive, but I’ve barely been able to read the magazine for parents.”
- “When I see posts on social media like ‘Thanks to Shimajiro, potty training went well,’ I feel we aren’t making proper use of it.”
In this article, while neutrally laying out what Kodomo Challenge’s materials consist of, we constructively offer viewpoints, based on findings from related research, to help families already subscribing “make good use” of the materials. It is an article to help moms who worry too much that “maybe it isn’t working” let go of some of that pressure.
What kind of materials is Kodomo Challenge?
The focus of this article is not how to choose but “how to use,” so first we neutrally lay out what the materials consist of (the content is updated depending on the course and period. Here we introduce a general structure, centered on Pocket (ages 2 to 3) as of May 2026).
- Picture books: one a month, a Shimajiro story picture book suited to the child’s age. Themes of daily habits, social skills, and language are generally built in
- Edutoys (educational toys): about one educational toy a month. Twisting blocks, stacking towers, shape matching, pretend play sets, items related to potty training, etc.
- Video materials (DVD or streaming videos): Shimajiro animations, songs, short segments on daily habits, and so on, updated each month
- Audio and pen materials: from Pocket on, some years include items such as a “talking book” or an “audio learning pen” that play sounds when you touch a picture book or board
- Magazine for parents: a booklet with key points on children’s development, tips on how to talk to children, and hints on how to play at home
- Characters: the story links across materials, centered on Shimajiro and his family and friends
The total amount of materials is manageable, and the design is that each month a theme of “this month, play with and read this” arrives. On the other hand, the actual operation of “how to use it at home” is in the end left to the subscribing family. This is where the worry “we aren’t making good use of it” concentrates.
What does the research say?
At present, independent third-party studies of the effects of Kodomo Challenge itself are limited (there are Benesse’s own surveys and surveys of subscribers, but few studies have gone through third-party peer review). So in this article, we lay out what research says about each element that makes up the materials—reading picture books aloud, educational toys used by parent and child, and videos for children. We lay it out neutrally.
A: Reading aloud is most strongly associated with language development in the preschool years
One of the central elements of Kodomo Challenge is the picture book that arrives once a month. Reading picture books aloud is an area with a particularly thick body of research within early childhood education.
A meta-analysis integrating 99 studies (on the relationship between the amount of exposure to print and language ability)
shows the strong result that the amount of reading aloud in the preschool years explains 12% of the differences in later oral language ability. It is not “how flashy the materials are” or “a special method,” but the total amount of time spent with picture books together with a parent itself that works on the foundation of children’s language.
In addition, an intervention experiment in dialogic reading with children ages 2 to 3 showed that when parents read the same picture book while asking “What’s this?” and drawing out the child’s speech, expressive vocabulary grows significantly in 4 weeks. Language grows more when reading “while interacting with the child” than when “reading to the child.”
In other words, if you read Kodomo Challenge’s picture books too together while drawing out your child’s reactions, rather than just reading through them, it fits perfectly with the research findings.
B: Traditional toys go well with parent-child dialogue and the development of spatial awareness and language
There is also related research on edutoys (educational toys).
A study that recorded 26 parent-child pairs with infants ages 10 to 16 months playing with three kinds of toys (electronic toys, traditional toys, and picture books) and compared the quantity and quality of parent-child talk
showed that when playing with traditional toys (blocks, shape sorters, building blocks, etc.) or picture books, compared with electronic toys, the number of words parents spoke, the variety of vocabulary, and the number of conversational turns with the child were all significantly greater. The finding is that toys designed so that “the toy itself talks” tend to reduce how much parents talk.
From Pocket on, Kodomo Challenge’s edutoys include some that make sounds, such as the “audio learning pen,” but at the core are things close to traditional toys that invite simple handwork and pretend play, such as twisting blocks, stacking towers, shape and color matching, and pretend play tools. These are the type that easily function as “materials that create parent-child dialogue,” as supported by research, when a parent sits down and engages together.
C: Videos for children have different effects depending on “quality” and “whether watched with a parent”
The research summary on video materials (Shimajiro DVDs and streaming videos) is also clear.
An observational study that followed 51 infants from 6 to 30 months old, with viewing records every 3 months
showed that the relationship between children’s TV viewing and vocabulary and expressive language differs greatly depending on the quality and narrative of the program. Educational programs with a structure that asks viewers questions and a solid story (Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Arthur, Clifford, Dragon Tales, etc.) were positively associated with vocabulary acquisition, while infant programs with weak narratives (Teletubbies, etc.) showed a negative association.
Shimajiro’s videos are told as stories in which, each month, children experience daily habits (brushing teeth, toileting, changing clothes) and social skills (taking turns, getting along with friends) together with Shimajiro, a design close to the category of “educational programs with a narrative”. Seen through the framework of Linebarger and colleagues’ research, they are material that falls on the not-bad side in terms of the quality of content.
In addition, as we laid out in detail in the DWE article (Japanese), even the same video has very different effects when “watched with a parent and talked about.” This way of engaging is called “co-viewing,” and it is the simplest device for turning video materials into a form that fits the research findings.
D: Seen through Hirsh-Pasek’s “four pillars of educational content”
Finally, here is one more framework for evaluating materials.
A review paper in Psychological Science in the Public Interest presenting a framework for evaluating educational apps and toys from the viewpoint of the science of learning
organizes four pillars that support effective learning experiences.
- Active: whether there are chances for the child to take part using their head and hands
- Engaged: whether the child can concentrate on the activity without being distracted by pointless sparkles and sound effects
- Meaningful: whether it connects with the child’s life and concepts they already know
- Social: whether dialogue with parents and peers is built into the experience
Looking at Kodomo Challenge through this framework, “Meaningful (themes of daily habits and social skills overlap with everyday life)” and “Active (moving the hands with edutoys)” come as standard. On the other hand, only “Social (a parent engaging together)” is a variable decided by how the family uses it. This is the dividing line in whether you can make good use of the materials.
How to read it: applied to Kodomo Challenge
Laying research A to D over the package called Kodomo Challenge, we can organize it like this.
Ways of using it that tend to show little effect according to research
Less effective use
Leaving DVDs or streaming videos running for a long time like background music during housework. Edutoys played with for a few days, then put away in the box. Picture books read once on the day they arrive, then left sleeping on the bookshelf. Just flipping through the magazine for parents. Leaving it on the assumption that 'children learn automatically once it arrives.'
Ways of using it that tend to show effects according to research
More effective use
Reading picture books almost every night, with the parent asking 'What's this?' and 'What do you think happens next?' A parent also touching the edutoys together and engaging with 'This is amazing' or 'Is this one next?' For videos, a parent watching alongside, and afterward bringing it up: 'Shimajiro did his best brushing his teeth, didn't he?' Keeping just one tip a month on how to talk to children from the magazine in mind.
In other words, “whether it works or not” is not built into the package called Kodomo Challenge itself; the effect hangs on “whether the parent is using it together with the child.” This is the same single line that has emerged again and again in the DWE article (Japanese), the article on educational toys (Japanese), and the article on flashcards (Japanese). Summarized in the language of research, it comes to this:
The effect of Kodomo Challenge does not come from the materials. It comes from the time the parent spends engaging with the child using the materials.Viewpoints for “making good use” of Kodomo Challenge
Here is the most important part of this article. Kodomo Challenge, which arrives every month for a few thousand yen a month, actually contains, from the start, plenty of the elements that research says work. Let’s go element by element, from the viewpoint of “using this part fits the research findings.”
Picture books — right at the center of the research
The picture books that arrive every month are the element of the Kodomo Challenge package that best fits the research findings. Both “the amount of reading aloud” shown by the Mol & Bus (2011) meta-analysis and “dialogic reading” shown by Whitehurst (1988) can be reproduced at picture book time at home.
The tips for reading based on research are simple.
- Wait for the child’s reaction (ask “What’s this?” and don’t say the answer right away)
- Expand on what the child says (“Vroom vroom” → “Yes, a blue car is driving along”)
- Repeat the same picture book (respond to the child’s “Again!”; repetition makes words stick)
- Bring the picture book’s themes into daily life (“Shimajiro brushed his teeth too, didn’t he?”)
Because Kodomo Challenge’s picture books have themes of daily habits and social skills built in, they are designed to be easy to bring into everyday conversation. As material for picture book time at home, they are actually quite an easy type to work with.
Edutoys — the parent sits down too
Edutoys are designed so children can enjoy them playing alone, but as Sosa’s (2016) research shows, the amount of parent-child interaction changes greatly depending on whether a parent sits down and engages together.
- Ask questions like “What did you make?” and “What’s this?”
- Put words to the child’s hand movements (“Twisting, twisting!” “Oh, you did it!”)
- The parent also tries touching it alongside (not a competition; making something different with the same material)
- When the child gets bored, end on a good note (don’t force them to continue)
Only about one edutoy arrives each month, so just keeping them out of the box, in an easy-to-reach place in the living room, increases chances to engage. The pattern of “playing intensively only in the month it arrives, and at the back of the shelf the next month” is the most wasteful way to use them.
Video materials — their value rises with co-viewing
Seen through the framework of Linebarger & Walker (2005), Shimajiro’s DVDs and streaming videos fall in the category of “educational programs with a narrative,” and in terms of the quality of content, they are on the better side among videos for children. However, these too, rather than “leaving them running,” fit the research findings when combined with a parent watching alongside and talking about the content (co-viewing).
- The parent watches alongside (you don’t have to watch it all; even the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes)
- After watching, bring it up in that day’s life (“Can you brush your teeth like Shimajiro?”)
- If the child reacts to a song scene, the parent sings along too
- If the child wants to watch the same video again and again, go along with it (repetition is the natural way 2- to 3-year-olds learn)
On the other hand, leaving videos running for long hours between housework is the pattern that tends to show the least effect according to research. This is not because “Shimajiro is bad,” but because it is a property common to video media in general.
Magazine for parents — one point a month is enough
Kodomo Challenge’s magazine for parents covers key points on development by age in months, tips on how to talk to children, and hints on how to play at home, and it is a guide for bringing about at home what Hirsh-Pasek’s four pillars call “Social (a parent engaging together)”.
If you think “I have to read it all properly,” you just end up not reading it and feeling more guilty. “Keeping just one point in mind each month” is fine. For example, if that month’s theme is “talking in a way that respects the child’s choices,” try being conscious of using “Which one will you choose?” that month. That alone gradually adds to your repertoire of ways to engage, a little each month.
Nei-sensei responds to the persona’s worries
Actually, we subscribe to Kodomo Challenge Pocket. Every month, picture books and edutoys arrive, but I’ve always worried whether it’s really “working.” When I see posts on social media like “potty training done thanks to Shimajiro,” I feel we aren’t making proper use of it…
I really understand how you feel. First of all, Kodomo Challenge is not materials designed so that “children learn automatically once it arrives.” Every month, it repeatedly delivers the same theme through picture books, edutoys, and videos, carried by Shimajiro’s story—it’s closest to think of it as a platform that sets up, month by month, triggers for parent-child engagement at home.
A platform…?
Yes. So the effect is decided by “how you engage.” Put the other way, among the things you’re doing now, you are probably already doing many things that research says “work.” Reading the picture book that arrived before bed, touching the edutoys a little together with your son—with that, you’re already more than halfway there.
But I leave the videos running while I do housework… That’s not good, is it?
I won’t say it’s “bad” all the time. Your time to yourself matters too. What research can say is that “if videos run continuously for long hours, what children learn from them is limited.” On the other hand, Shimajiro’s videos are in the category of educational programs with a narrative, and in terms of the quality of content they’re on the better side among videos for children. So, for example, just adding “10 minutes after dinner when you sit beside him and watch together” 2 to 3 times a week turns the same video into “time shared by parent and child.”
With the edutoys, he plays happily for the first few days, but soon gets bored… When a new one arrives, the old one is forgotten.
That’s basically how 2- to 3-year-olds are. Don’t worry about it. The trick is to not put them away in the box, but line them up in an easy-to-reach place in the living room. When your child suddenly becomes interested, you sit down together and say, “Want to try this again after a while?”—just being able to create that trigger lets edutoys come back to life again and again. It’s often not that he “got bored,” but that “his attention just moved elsewhere.”
It’s also been bothering me that I’ve barely read the magazine for parents…
You don’t need to read it all. In fact, “remembering just one tip on how to talk to children for that month’s theme” is fine. For example, in a month where the theme is “talking in a way that lets the child choose,” try being conscious of using “Which plate will you have?” that month. That alone adds to your repertoire of ways to engage, little by little, every month. The goal isn’t to read the magazine neatly from cover to cover, but for the interactions at home that month to change even a little.
Not being able to see results is hard too. When I hear about children the same age, “already out of diapers” or “can read hiragana,” I get anxious.
It’s better not to compare. Development at ages 2 to 3 varies a great deal from month to month and from child to child. Even subscribing to the same Kodomo Challenge, depending on the child’s preferences and the pace of development, some themes click and some don’t. “My child isn’t potty trained yet, but he loves the twisting blocks”—that’s completely fine. The themes where your child is enjoying himself in the materials are the parts that are growing right now.
Options you can “use together” or that “can also replace it”
Kodomo Challenge does not need to carry all of your family’s early learning. Rather, combining it with other means is more natural according to research.
1. Picture books from the library (free, and broadens the range)
The picture book corner of your local library is the strongest free resource for a literacy environment in the preschool years. Because Kodomo Challenge’s picture books are one a month, borrowing a few books a month from the library greatly broadens the range of picture book genres. As the Mol & Bus (2011) meta-analysis shows, with reading aloud, “quantity” works. The combination of the materials’ picture books + library picture books is a structure that makes sense.
2. Simple educational toys (blocks, puzzles)
As we laid out in detail in the article on educational toys (Japanese), simple traditional toys such as blocks, puzzles, and building blocks have been associated with spatial awareness and math skills in multiple studies. Because Kodomo Challenge’s edutoys are about one a month, combining them with blocks and puzzles you have at home and building them into everyday play thickens the material for engagement.
3. Everyday parent-child conversation and play-by-play talk
Even without materials, naming what the child is looking at and talking to them in everyday situations such as shopping, cooking, walks, and bath time is itself a foundation of language development confirmed by research. You can also layer it with Kodomo Challenge’s themes (for example, “colors” this month) by consciously bringing it up in daily life: “This is red, this is blue.”
4. No need to force comparisons with other companies’ correspondence materials and learning services
“I’m also interested in Z-kai, Popy, Baby Kumon, and Worldwide Kids”—once you start comparing, there’s no end. According to research, “being able to continue for a long time with materials the parent can use together with the child” is a much bigger variable than “which materials work best”. If you already have materials that are continuing, making full use of them is often more effective than adding new ones.
Two common misconceptions
Closing dialogue
Hearing today’s talk, something that’s been weighing on my chest feels a little lighter. Every month I thought “maybe we aren’t using it properly,” but reading picture books before bed and touching the edutoys a little together were already things research says are important.
You’re doing them. Please have confidence in that. From here, it’s enough to add just one small idea a month on top of what you’re doing now. While reading picture books, try asking “What’s this?”. Keep the edutoys in an easy-to-reach place in the living room. 2 to 3 times a week, watch the videos alongside him for just 10 minutes. Remember just one point a month from the magazine. That alone makes the value of each month’s materials rise considerably.
I’ll try it. Tonight, while reading a picture book, I’ll ask my son, “What’s this?”
That’s a wonderful first step. Just one last thing. When your child hums a Shimajiro song, is focused on something with an edutoy, or points at a page of a picture book and laughs—please notice those small signs. If you can see them, the most important job of the materials is already being done. You don’t need to aim for “fluent, smooth, excellent.” That your child receives time spent with Shimajiro as “something fun” and “something with Mom”—that is itself the meaning of subscribing to Kodomo Challenge.
I feel the pressure lifting. Thank you.
Research details
Primary sourcesStudy design: Systematic review + meta-analysis
Scope: 99 studies from the 1980s to 2010 (7,669 children and young people in total)
Main results: The amount of parent-child reading aloud and exposure to print had moderate to strong correlations with later oral language ability, reading comprehension, and spelling. In the preschool years, it explains 12% of the differences in oral language ability. It suggests that the amount of parent-child engagement, more than the type of materials, is strongly related to language development.
Limitations: Because it centers on correlational studies, there are limits to proving causation.
Study design: Randomized controlled trial (RCT)
Participants: 30 children ages 2 to 3 (a dialogic reading intervention group and a regular reading control group)
Follow-up period: 4 weeks of intervention + follow-up 9 months later
Main results: The group that received dialogic reading, in which parents asked “What’s this?”, drew out the child’s speech, and repeated and expanded on it, showed significantly greater growth in expressive vocabulary than the regular reading group. The effect was partly maintained 9 months later.
Limitations: The sample size is small. It studied children from middle-class families, so generalizing the results requires testing in other socioeconomic groups.
Study design: Counterbalanced comparison experiment (recordings in natural home settings)
Participants: 26 parent-child pairs with infants ages 10 to 16 months. They played for 15 minutes each with three toy sets (electronic toys, traditional toys, picture books)
Main results: Compared with traditional toys and picture books, play with electronic toys had significantly less parental speech, fewer parent-child conversational turns, and less variety in the vocabulary parents used. Picture books had the most dialogue, followed by traditional toys, with electronic toys the least.
Limitations: The sample is small (26 pairs), and it was a short-term observation of U.S. families. This study cannot directly show long-term effects on development.
Study design: Longitudinal observational study (hierarchical linear modeling)
Participants: 51 infants from 6 to 30 months old, followed every 3 months with viewing records and assessments of vocabulary and expressive language
Main results: The relationship between TV viewing and language development differs greatly depending on the quality and narrative of the program. Educational programs with a narrative and a structure that asks viewers questions (Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Arthur, Clifford, Dragon Tales) were positively associated with vocabulary and expressive language. Programs with weak narratives (Teletubbies) were negatively associated. It showed that the format and content of programs separate the outcomes.
Limitations: Because it is an observational study, there are limits to proving causation. Viewing records depend on parents’ self-reports.
It is not a direct test of Japanese programs for young children, but it is widely referenced as a framework for evaluating the category of “educational programs with a narrative and a structure that asks questions.”
Study design: A review of the science of learning + a proposed framework for evaluating educational content
Scope: Integrated existing findings from the science of learning and developmental psychology, and presented a four-pillar framework for evaluating commercial “educational apps” and “educational toys”
Main results: Effective learning experiences meet four requirements: Active, Engaged, Meaningful, and Social. In particular, Social (dialogue with parents and peers) is hard to achieve with materials alone and is largely decided by how families and caregivers engage.
Limitations: It is a proposed evaluation framework, not a test of the effects of individual materials. The effects of each material need separate study.