Getting Ready for Daycare: What Should You Prepare? — The Reality of Starting at Age 0, 1, or 2

Why this topic is on parents’ minds

As maternity and childcare leave come to an end, the “to-do list” in your head suddenly grows.

• How long does the adaptation period take?
• My child is only 0. Is it really all right to start daycare in April?
• How should I work backward to decide when to return to work?
• My baby refuses the bottle completely. Will we make it in time?
• When will I ever finish putting names on everything?
• Is it true that children get sick and miss daycare right after starting? Can I still work?
• Isn’t it unfair to the child to start daycare at age 0?

The last question, in particular, can easily grow large because of social media or a single comment from your parents’ generation. Research gives a surprisingly calm answer to it. “Cooperation” over “things,” “planning for the unexpected” over “perfection,” and preparation not only for the “child” but for the “parents and the workplace”: we will go through these three viewpoints in order.

The core of daycare preparation is “preparing cooperation”

As the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2017)“Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers” clearly states, daycare, and especially the classes for ages 0 to 2, is a place that provides “care (protecting life and emotional stability)” and “education” as one. Unlike the classes for age 3 and up, in the classes for ages 0 to 2, daycare and home share all of daily life: eating, sleeping, toileting, changing clothes, and play.

From this, there are three directions for preparation.

• Gradually shift the home’s daily rhythm toward the daycare’s rhythm (waking up early, nap times)
• Set up ways for information to go back and forth between daycare and home (the contact notebook, conversations at pickup)
• Before starting, write down how the parents will work, handle drop-off and pickup, and back each other up when the child is sick

Preparing things is only the foundation that supports this “preparation for cooperation.” If you get the order wrong, a typical failure is that by the time you have perfectly finished putting name stickers on everything, you still have not worked things out with your workplace, and the adaptation period throws you around.

Differences by starting class — starting at age 0, 1, 2, or 3

“Getting ready for daycare” tends to be talked about as one thing, but the focus of preparation is completely different depending on which class the child enters. The Children and Families Agency’s Children and Families Agency (2024)“Summary of the Status of Day Care Centers and Related Facilities” (as of April 1, 2024) also shows that most children on waiting lists are concentrated in the age-1 and age-2 classes, and that mid-year entry to the age-0 class is difficult relative to capacity. The outlook for the family changes depending on which class the child enters.

1. Age-0 class

   Starting between 57 days old and under 1 year (after maternity leave to after childcare leave)

   Getting used to formula and the bottle, and sharing the stage of baby food, are the most important. Babies nap 2 to 3 times a day, and the daycare takes the lead in setting the daily rhythm. You may need 4 to 6 sets of clothes a day. Staffing standards are generous (roughly 3:1 for age 0), so this is a time when children can receive careful attention. Parents need to think about the timing of their return to work and switching between breastfeeding, pumping, and formula at the same time.

2. Age-1 class

   Starting in the school year the child is age 1 to 2 (after 1 to 1.5 years of childcare leave)

   This is a time when starting to walk, weaning from breastfeeding, and finishing baby food all overlap, and life changes a lot both at home and at daycare. You need 3 to 4 sets of clothes a day. It tends to overlap with the peak of following the parent around and separation anxiety, and this is also the class where crying during the adaptation period tends to be strongest. With the first signs of self-assertion, there are more 'no, no!' moments. This class has the most children on waiting lists, so prepare with the possibility that a placement decision may come late.

3. Age-2 class

   Starting in the school year the child is age 2 to 3 (after 2 years of childcare leave; many children also transfer in)

   This is a time when language grows, toilet training begins, and the sense of self becomes firm. You need 2 to 3 sets of clothes a day. Children adapt to group life relatively quickly, but a child who has spent a long time at home may cry strongly during the adaptation period. Looking ahead to the move up to the age-3 class, when the preschool curriculum (sports day, recitals, and so on) begins, prepare yourself for these events.

4. Age-3 class

   Starting in the school year the child is age 3 (the same age as kindergarten entry)

   Many classes assume that the child is almost out of diapers, and a certain level of independence in daily life is expected. Some daycare centers shorten or drop nap time. Because the developmental line comes close to that of children entering kindergarten at the same age, the approach to preparation increasingly overlaps with kindergarten preparation. Children who already have group experience (a child-rearing support center, a pre-daycare program, and so on) tend to adapt smoothly.

What we especially want to stress is that the focus of preparation at home is completely different when a child starts at age 0 versus age 1. For age 0, the center is “the bottle, baby food, and several naps a day”; for age 1, it is “walking, weaning, and separation anxiety.” When you read the experiences of other parents, first checking which age class their child entered makes the information easier to sort out.

The schedule from the placement decision to the first day

In many municipalities, the flow for April entry to licensed daycare (ninka hoikuen) is roughly as follows (details differ by municipality, so always check the guidance from your own municipality).

• October to December of the previous year: Apply for licensed daycare (at the municipal office)
• January to February: Notice of provisional placement → the daycare is decided
• February to March: Orientation, health checkup, interview, submission of required documents
• Late March: The final push to label everything and prepare belongings
• From April 1: Entry and the start of the adaptation period
• Mid-April to early May: The adaptation period ends → regular hours and return to work

What to watch out for here is that there are several items where “starting preparation after the placement is decided is too late.”

• Getting used to the bottle (when starting at age 0) — breastfed babies often dislike the bottle, and it can take several weeks to several months to get used to it
• Agreement between the parents on who does drop-off and pickup — if you discuss it after starting, you will argue in the first week
• Registering in advance for sick-child care and Family Support — in many municipalities registration itself takes time, and you may not make it in time if you want to use them right after starting
• Final adjustment with your workplace on your return date and working conditions — you need to set a return date that allows for the adaptation period

Rather than “doing everything in the 2 months after the provisional placement,” it is realistic to “start moving little by little from the new year.”

The reality of the adaptation period

Of all the preparation, the least visible part, and the one that throws families around the most, is the adaptation period. For the first 1 to 2 weeks, so that the child can get used to daycare little by little, the hours of care start out short.

Ahnert and colleagues at the University of Leipzig (2004)A longitudinal study that followed 70 German infants around 1 year old and their mothers during and after the adaptation period, tracking changes in the children’s stress response (salivary cortisol), mother-child attachment, and negative emotion as they entered child care shows findings that are very suggestive about the adaptation period.

• At the start, in many infants, salivary cortisol (a stress hormone) rose significantly when the mother was absent (p<0.05)
• This rise in cortisol was observed for several months after entry, both in the group with a short adaptation period (a few days) and in the group with a long one (2 to 3 weeks or more)
• However, in children with a secure attachment to their mother, and in children whose mothers stayed with them during the adaptation period to help them get used to the new environment, the rise in cortisol settled down sooner
• More important than the length of the adaptation period itself is the quality of the process: “the mother stays with the child and gradually builds the relationship with the caregiver”

The gradual approach used at many daycare centers in Japan—“1 to 2 hours on the first day → until late morning after a few days → through lunch after 1 week → until evening from the second week”—is a process that also makes sense from a research point of view. The problem is how to coordinate this period with your workplace.

As a practical guide, it is realistic to think of it as follows.

• The standard adaptation period is 2 to 3 weeks (1 month at some daycare centers)
• When starting at age 0 or 1, or when the child has a cautious temperament, plan for a longer period
• Set your planned return-to-work date at least a few days to 1 week after the adaptation period ends
• Agree with your workplace in advance, including the possibility that the adaptation period will be extended

A tight schedule like “start daycare April 1, return to work April 8” tends to be hard on the child, on the parents, and on the workplace. If possible, create a few buffer days after the adaptation period ends. This alone makes a completely different amount of breathing room for the family after the start.

Be ready for “several days off in a row in the first few weeks”

Something surprisingly rarely mentioned in daycare preparation is the chain of infections right after starting. At daycare, preschool children spend the whole day close together. As their immune systems develop, in the first six months to 1 year they bring home colds, stomach bugs, roseola (sudden rash), and other illnesses at a frequency you would never see at home.

This is a process that is nearly unavoidable immunologically. As we also explain in a separate article, Why do children catch colds so often? (Japanese), the finding shown again and again is that “children who attend daycare catch colds often in the first few years, but by around school age they settle to the same level as other children or lower.”

In the context of daycare preparation, what matters is to look ahead at this fact as “expected” rather than “unexpected,” both at home and at work.

• In the 1 to 2 months after starting, there will almost certainly be weeks when your child is off several days in a row
• Right after returning to work, neither parent can usually take many days off in the same week
• Prepare sick-child care registration, Family Support, help from grandparents, and babysitters before starting
• Tell your workplace honestly that “for the first few months, there is a high chance of sudden days off”

If you go in thinking “my child will be fine” without preparing, the family’s plans will collapse with the first fever. Decide that “in the first year, we will set things up so we can take time off,” and write down a response list as a couple. This directly affects how much breathing room the family has after starting.

Preparing things — the “amount” is on a completely different scale from kindergarten

From here, we talk about the so-called “preparing things.” Daycare, especially the classes for ages 0 to 2, needs an “amount” on a completely different scale from kindergarten.

In the age-0 and age-1 classes in particular, the work of “putting names on things” goes beyond what you imagine. Each diaper, each piece of clothing, and each meal bib needs a name. Handwriting, name stamps, name stickers, iron-on prints—rely on tools wherever you can, and it is realistic to “divide the work between the parents and finish it intensively over 1 to 2 weekends.”

Nap futons, too, are handled very differently from one daycare to another. There are “futon style (take it home on weekends),” “cot style (the daycare provides it and you bring only a cover),” and “contract with a futon rental company,” among others, so be sure to check at the orientation. With a futon, you need to wash and dry the futon itself, the cover, and the carrying bag every weekend, and this becomes a fixed household task every week.

Special preparation for starting at age 0 — the bottle and baby food

When starting in the age-0 class, special preparation is needed that other classes do not have.

Getting used to the bottle

Breastfed babies often go through phases of disliking the bottle. If after starting the baby cannot drink formula or pumped milk from a bottle, the daycare cannot give fluids and nutrition, and the adaptation period cannot move forward. This is one of the most time-consuming items of all the preparation before starting.

• At the latest from 2 months before starting, try the bottle several times a week
• Try several shapes and materials of nipples (babies’ preferences vary a lot from one to another)
• It often goes better when someone other than mom (dad, grandparents) gives the bottle
• Try ideas such as using pumped milk instead of formula, bringing the temperature close to body temperature, or changing the position from being held
• If the baby still will not drink, try drinking from a cup, spoon, spout cup, or straw

Some daycare centers will accept a baby who cannot drink from a bottle by adjusting how they feed at the center (cup drinking, etc.). Do not corner yourself with “it absolutely has to be the bottle.” Check the daycare’s policy at the orientation.

The stage of baby food

At the orientation, you are often asked to submit “the current stage of baby food (early, middle, late, or completion stage),” “whether there are allergies,” and “a list of foods the child has eaten at home.” As a basic rule, for safety, daycare centers do not serve foods the child has never eaten at home, considering the possibility of an allergic reaction.

In the few months before starting, try the typical foods used in daycare meals (rice, bread, udon noodles, eggs, dairy products, fish, meat, main vegetables, fruit) little by little at home. This alone makes daycare meals start smoothly after entry.

The contact notebook and app messages — as “the start of a dialogue”

In recent years, many daycare centers have introduced contact notebook apps (CoDMON, Lookmee, hugnote, etc.). Many centers have switched from a handwritten contact notebook to records on a smartphone, and it is becoming standard for check-in and check-out times, records of naps, meals, and toileting, and even photo sharing to be handled in one place.

What to keep in mind here is to use the contact notebook not as “a place for administrative messages” but as “the start of a dialogue.”

• Write 2 to 3 lines about how the child is at home (night waking, mood, new things they can do)
• Share things you are concerned about (not eating well, loose stools, coughing) early and briefly
• Reply to the teacher’s notes with something like “Thank you. At home, too, ___.”

Especially in the classes for ages 0 to 2, children cannot yet tell you in words what happened at daycare, so the contact notebook becomes almost the only continuous route connecting home and daycare. Going back and forth carefully in the first few weeks builds trust with the teachers.

Returning to work and the setup at home

Something easy to overlook in daycare preparation is preparing “the setup on the family’s side.” If you focus only on the child, running the household falls apart right after you return to work.

Write down how the couple will divide the work

An agreement that exists only in your heads will almost certainly waver in the rush after starting. Write down “who does drop-off and pickup on which day,” “who responds first when the child has a fever,” and “how evening housework is divided” on a calendar or spreadsheet. This is powerful preparation that prevents friction between the couple after starting.

• Morning drop-off: dad on certain days, mom on the others
• Evening pickup: mom as a rule, dad during busy periods or when she works overtime
• First response to a fever (who goes to pick up the child first): take turns month by month
• Evening housework: dad does the bath, mom does bedtime, and so on

You do not need to follow it perfectly. Just having “a basic line” greatly reduces the fatigue of daily decisions.

Preparing sick-child care, Family Support, and grandparents in advance

Before starting, be sure to check and register for the following.

• Municipal sick-child care and care for children recovering from illness: registration, how to use it, how to make reservations
• Private sick-child care and babysitters: open accounts with services you can call in an emergency
• Family Support (Family Support Center): a municipal program; an interview in advance is often required
• Asking grandparents and relatives for help: talk in advance about “how much you can ask of them when it really matters”

“Looking for help after the fever starts” is too late. Get to a state where you have already registered, so you can use it when you need it.

Systems to minimize the burden of meals and housework

Right after returning to work, evenings when you can spend 1 hour cooking become rare.

• Try grocery delivery, meal kits, and frozen meal delivery
• Batch cooking on weekends, or a set of standard dishes you can serve in 5 minutes on weekdays
• Consider getting a dishwasher, a drum-type washer-dryer, or a robot vacuum
• Agree as a family that “on weekdays, we give up on perfect meals”

Cutting corners on housework is not “a lack of love for your child.” Rather, being able to face your child with a smile, using the time and peace of mind gained by making housework more efficient, is far more important, according to research as well.

The reality of “pickup time”

Something people tend to underestimate in daycare preparation is the daily pickup time.

• Whether you get standard hours of care (8 hours) or hours beyond the standard (11 hours) is decided by the municipality’s certification category
• Extended care generally applies from 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. (fees differ by daycare and municipality)
• Busy periods at month-end closing, sudden meetings, train delays—at some point a “just barely” day will always come
• Many daycare centers require you to apply in advance to use extended care

Based on both parents’ commutes and how often they work overtime, realistically estimate “how many days a month we will not make it to pickup on time,” and talk before starting about what to do on those days (switching between parents, Family Support, extended care). This, too, is real daycare preparation.

Your child’s emotional ups and downs — they are expected

During the adaptation period and for several months after starting, your child may show changes like these.

• Crying and not letting go when arriving at daycare in the morning
• Becoming much clingier at home and following you around more
• Night waking coming back, having trouble falling asleep
• Loss of appetite, or the opposite, eating too much
• Temporarily going back to breastfeeding after weaning

Almost all of these are expected as reactions to adapting to a new environment. Ahnert et al.’s (2004) cortisol study also shows that a rise in stress response is observed for several months after entry.

However, “there is a stress response = daycare is bad for children” is absolutely not true. It is natural for any adult or child to feel a certain amount of stress when adapting to a new environment. What matters is:

• After coming home, more physical closeness than usual
• Putting feelings into words and accepting them: “You cried today, didn’t you? You did your best.”
• Deliberately adding more time for picture books and hugs before bed
• Even if the ups and downs continue for 2 to 3 months, not panicking and talking with the daycare

This level of readiness is enough. Ahnert et al.’s research also shows that with a secure attachment to the mother, children recover from the stress of a new environment. It is more important for home to remain “a secure base” than to completely eliminate the ups and downs themselves.

Is “starting daycare early stops attachment from developing” true?

Finally, there is a topic we really want to touch on in the context of daycare preparation.

Of course, there are researchers who take a cautious position, like Belsky of the University of London (2001)an essay that re-examined the debate over the developmental risks of early child care in light of the findings of the NICHD study, which says that care is needed with the combination of “long hours of care, large groups, and low-quality care.” But this is an issue of “the quality of care,” not an issue of “attending daycare itself.” Japan’s licensed daycare centers have a certain level of quality guaranteed by the system through mechanisms such as staffing standards for childcare workers, the Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers, and third-party evaluations.

What a family should look at is not “whether to use daycare or not,” but “the quality of care at the daycare” and “the quality of interaction during the time spent at home.” For a detailed discussion, please also see Is the “three-year-old myth” really true? (Japanese).

The parents’ mental side — letting go of perfectionism

The last key to daycare preparation is the parents’ mental side. Especially when starting in the age-0 or age-1 class:

• Guilt: “Was it really right to leave my child when they are this small?”
• Tearing up yourself when you see your child crying during the adaptation period
• Feeling sorry for leaving work early again and again because of your child’s fever right after returning to work
• Feeling cornered by comments from people around you like “It must be hard being a working mom”
• Disappointment in yourself for not managing perfect cooking, a perfect home, and perfect parenting

These are feelings that almost every family starting daycare experiences. Just knowing that “you are not the only weak one” and “you are not the only one who is not trying hard enough” lets you be much kinder to yourself after starting.

And there is something said again and again, both in research and in practice. Aiming to be a “perfect parent” wears out both children and parents. For the few months after starting, it is enough if housework, meals, and child care are running at a minimum. Living by a standard like “everyone made it through today, and that is enough” ends up giving the whole family more healthy time.

If you are actually going to do it, how should you go about it?

Based on research and experience on the ground, here is what you can do in the months before starting.

1. Put your energy into “cooperation” and “setup” rather than “things”

You can manage the name labels in a last-minute rush, but coordinating with your workplace during the adaptation period and registering in advance for sick-child care cannot be made up for later. Deciding to put your preparation energy into “cooperation” and “setup” rather than “things” makes sense both from research and in practice.

2. Focus your preparation according to the starting class

For starting at age 0: the bottle, baby food, and naps. For age 1: weaning, following you around, and walking. For age 2: toilet training, language, and the sense of self. For age 3: group life and independence in daily life. Set your priorities with a focus that matches your child’s class.

3. Estimate the adaptation period as “2 to 3 weeks + a buffer”

Do not schedule your return date right after the adaptation period ends. Agree with your workplace in advance, including the possibility that the adaptation period will be extended. This alone makes a completely different amount of breathing room for the family in April.

4. Treat the chain of illnesses as “expected” and set up for it

In the 1 to 2 months after starting, a week of consecutive days off will definitely come. How the couple handles fevers, registering in advance for sick-child care, and letting your workplace know in advance—write these down before starting.

5. Use the contact notebook as “the start of a dialogue”

Go back and forth carefully in the first few weeks. Send the daycare 2 to 3 lines about how the child is at home, what you are concerned about, and new things they can do. Trust with the teachers directly affects the family’s peace of mind after starting.

6. Give up on “perfect housework and perfect parenting” for the first 3 months

Grocery delivery, meal kits, frozen meal delivery, investing in appliances—use everything you can. Make “everyone made it through today, and that is enough” the family’s motto.

7. Treat your own emotional ups and downs as “expected” too

Tearing up when you see your child cry at the entrance ceremony. Feeling sorry for leaving work early again and again. Being hurt by “It must be hard being a working mom.” These are reactions almost everyone experiences. Do not blame yourself; little by little, put it into words with your partner, other parents, or someone you trust.

Closing dialogue — as “a three-legged race of daycare and home”

Research details

Primary sources

StrongAhnert, Gunnar, Lamb, & Barthel2004Child Development, 75(3), 639-650

Study design: Longitudinal observational study (follow-up during and after the adaptation period)

Participants: 70 infants around 1 year old who entered child care in Germany, and their mothers. Salivary cortisol, attachment assessment (Strange Situation), and negative emotion were measured before entry, during the adaptation period, and after entry

Main results: • In many infants, salivary cortisol (a stress hormone) rose significantly when the mother was absent (p<0.05) • The rise in cortisol was observed for several months after entry, regardless of whether the adaptation period was short or long • In children with a secure attachment to their mother, and in children whose mothers stayed with them for a gradual adaptation, the rise in cortisol settled down sooner • More important than the length of the adaptation period itself is “the quality of the process in which the mother stays with the child and builds the relationship with the new caregiver”

Limitations: Because the study is set in German child-care culture, caution is needed in generalizing directly to the adaptation period in Japan. The sample size is moderate, and the clinical meaning of the physiological measure (cortisol) needs to be interpreted carefully.

StrongNICHD Early Child Care Research Network2006American Psychologist, 61(2), 99-116

Study design: A review summarizing the main findings of the U.S. NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, centered on effect sizes

Participants: About 1,364 children followed from birth at 10 sites in the United States. The relationship between the quantity, quality, and type of child care and cognitive, language, and social-emotional development was measured at multiple time points

Main results: • Children who spent time in higher-“quality” child care showed significant gains in cognitive and language areas (effect sizes small to moderate) • The quality of parenting at home and the mother’s sensitivity consistently predicted children’s development with larger effect sizes than child-care factors • No finding was obtained that time in child care itself harms mother-child attachment • A small association was observed between longer hours in child care and externalizing problem behavior (impulsivity, etc.), but the effect size was small compared with the influence of family factors

Limitations: Because this is a U.S. study, caution is needed in generalizing directly to Japan’s child-care system and culture. Because it is an observational study, unmeasured factors may still affect the relationship between families’ child-care choices and development.

Belsky, J.2001Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(7), 845-859

Study design: An essay re-examining the debate over the developmental risks of early child care in light of findings such as those of the NICHD study

Scope: Summarized early child-care research since the 1980s and discussed, from a cautious position, the risks of long hours of care and care in large groups in particular

Main results: • The combination of long hours of care, low-quality care, and large groups may be associated with a small risk to social-emotional development • However, this is not “a risk of daycare itself” but “an issue of the quality of care” • In high-quality care, these risks are not observed, or the effect is even positive • The interaction with the quality of parenting at home is large

Limitations: It is a summary of observational studies, so causal inference is limited. It should be read with the understanding that the author himself argues from a cautious position. The premises differ from Japan’s system and framework for guaranteeing the quality of child care.

StrongMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare2017保育所保育指針(平成29年告示) [Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers (2017 notice)]

Official document: Issued in March 2017 as Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Notice No. 117, in effect from April 2018

Content: Standards for the content and operation of care at day care centers. It organizes care content by developmental stage: age 0, age 1 to under 3, and age 3 and over. It clearly states that care (protecting life and emotional stability) and education (health, human relationships, environment, language, expression) are provided as one. For children age 3 and over, it sets out “matters to be shared as facilities that provide early childhood education,” aligning the educational content with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “Course of Study for Kindergarten” and the Cabinet Office’s “Course of Education and Care for Integrated Centers for Early Childhood Education and Care.”

Significance: It establishes day care centers as both “places of care” and “facilities that provide early childhood education,” and sets out a framework in which the quality of care for ages 0 to 2 is also guaranteed by national standards.

StrongChildren and Families Agency2024保育所等関連状況取りまとめ(令和6年4月1日) [Summary of the Status of Day Care Centers and Related Facilities (as of April 1, 2024)]

Official material: A compilation the Children and Families Agency publishes every year on the use of day care centers and related facilities nationwide and the number of children on waiting lists

Content: Compiles the number of children using care, the number of children on waiting lists, and enrollment by age at day care centers, certified centers for early childhood education and care, and community-based child care programs nationwide. It shows that the number of children on waiting lists has been falling sharply in recent years, but that concentration in the age-1 and age-2 classes and regional differences still remain.

Significance: In the context of daycare preparation, it is a basic resource for understanding the reality of “when, in which class, and in which area it is easier to get in.” It is information that underlies a family’s daycare search strategy, such as the difficulty of mid-year entry to the age-0 class and the high competition for the age-1 and age-2 classes.

Children and Families Agency2023保育所等における利用調整等に関する調査 [Survey on Admission Coordination at Day Care Centers and Related Facilities]

Official material: A survey by the Children and Families Agency of how municipalities coordinate admission to day care centers (the so-called selection and points system)

Content: Organizes how municipalities nationwide run admission selection for day care centers and related facilities, what items their points systems include, and how they set priorities. It shows that many municipalities decide admission order by converting working hours, work arrangements, family circumstances, and so on into points, and that the practice differs from one municipality to another.

Significance: In the context of daycare preparation, it is basic information for understanding “when to apply,” “required documents,” and “how the points work.” Because practice differs greatly by municipality, it shows the importance of always checking the latest guidance from your own municipality.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare1998平成10年版 厚生白書 [Annual Report on Health and Welfare 1998]

Official document: A white paper published in 1998 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (as it was then)

Content: In Part 1, Chapter 2, it clearly states that the so-called “three-year-old myth” (the idea that the mother should raise the child at home until age 3) “has no rational basis”. It carefully organizes the relationship between mothers’ employment and children’s development based on the research available at that time.

Significance: In the context of starting daycare at age 0 or 1, it is a document showing that, in response to parents’ guilt about “whether it is all right to leave a child this small,” the Japanese government itself stated “no basis” more than a quarter of a century ago. Research has found no basis that either choice—a dual-income family or a family with a full-time parent at home—hinders children’s development.