'My First Errand'

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Miti waygood was born in japan, lived in new jersey as a kid and then moved back to osaka at 13. Owen is a professor at polytechnique montreal, but he did his doctoral thesis at kioto university. Both michi and owen have unique perspectives on my first errandmichi because she grew up between japan and the us. And owenBecause he basically studies what the show is all about.

Back in March, Netflix picked up a long running Japanese TV program based on a children’s book from the 1970s. The show is called Old Enough, but the name of the original Japanese program translates to My First Errand. Because in each episode, a child runs an errand for the very first time. Episodes are only 10 to 20 minutes long, but in that short time a toddler treats the audience to a bite-sized hero's journey.

My First Errand is a gimmicky show with hokey music and a laugh track, but it’s also rooted in a truth about Japanese society: most children are remarkably independent from a very young age -- way more independent than children in the US. In Japanese cities, fifth-graders make 85 percent of their weekday trips without a parent. And this remarkable child mobility is made possible by everything from the neighbors next door to the width of the streets.

First Errand