I'm Old Enough: determined toddlers do their best!
April 3, 2022 8:23 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

A Japanese favourite recently made its Netflix debut (as “Old Enough”). Kids from two to four are sent on their first solo errands and followed by “hidden” cameras. Short episodes, super wholesome and ADORABLE.
posted by sixswitch (26 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I just saw this and am SO EXCITED
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:53 PM on April 3, 2022


So like Kotaro Lives Alone, but RL? Interesting.
posted by Chrysopoeia at 1:37 AM on April 4, 2022


I requested this be added to Fanfare to post about, too, and am so glad you did.

I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far, because they're charming and I want to savor them.

After the first episode, I thought surely these edited out some adult guidance, because that not quite 3 year old is arguably better focused on shopping than I am. But the second episode made it clear that if the kid gets off task, the camera people will happily film them doing their thing.

I cannot express how perfectly delightful this concept is.
posted by the primroses were over at 8:12 AM on April 4, 2022 [1 favorite]


I watched a few of these when I was in Japan and loved them. I'll have to check this out on Netflix.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:41 AM on April 4, 2022


Very charming, my mind is kinda blown that the 2 year old was able to walk a kilometer to the store, buy three correct items and nothing extra, then make it back. Even assuming the kid was almost 3, I couldn't send my kids out to the mailbox without it taking most of the day and they'd generally come back with no mail and a pile of sticks.
posted by skewed at 8:49 AM on April 4, 2022 [7 favorites]


"A stick of butter..."
posted by praemunire at 9:11 AM on April 4, 2022 [15 favorites]


I kind of had this experience at five years. My sister left me at kindergarten, and I had to find my own way back to my house. I did it by walking backwards the whole way, so that the turns and signs were what I remembered from the morning. To be honest, I'm kind of horrified that my parents just left me to my own devices after kindergarten. (I had a key, I let myself in. I made a baloney and mustard sandwich. I survived. At five.)
posted by SPrintF at 9:25 AM on April 4, 2022 [2 favorites]


We would catch the original on NHK/TV-Japan, and they were delightful. Can't wait to see them again on Netflix.
posted by jazon at 11:50 AM on April 4, 2022


I. love. this. show. But with a caveat, and that is the fact that as the show had been on the air for longer, it got ever so slightly more exploitative, if that's the right word. The first several seasons were much more lighthearted, but over time the stories seemed to include more children who were distraught or unwilling to go, or given an errand involving something truly impractical for a toddler to carry. I don't need to see a kid struggling to carry two gallons of milk; just the delight of kids managing to do a minor chore is cute enough.

Not sure how far into the airing history Netflix's collection gets, but hopefully they all maintain the atmosphere of the earlier episodes.
posted by wakannai at 11:51 AM on April 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


Thanks for the heads up wakkanai! It’s hard to tell which season Netflix has up, hopefully it’s earlier.
posted by sixswitch at 12:23 PM on April 4, 2022


These are positively delightful.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:53 AM on April 5, 2022


These are truly adorable and hilarious, but what I am honestly amazed by is the wayfinding. We haven't watched the whole series, but so far none of them have gotten even slightly lost. I guess it's down to being in a walkable environment versus a car-only environment, but when my daughter got her driver's license she barely knew her way out of our neighborhood, much less to the store. Or maybe they have flags or signs for them to follow?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:45 AM on April 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Yeah in the first episode the kid, who is only 2.75 years-old, walked over 1km to the grocery store. My daughter's 10 and is terrible with directions and I'm wondering if she'd be confident in doing something similar. I think she'd be able to do it, but she'd have some big doubts the whole time.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:22 AM on April 5, 2022


It's kind of irrelevant whether our tots could stay focused long enough to run errands, in the US anyway, since some fucking busybody would call child protective services at the sight of a child under the age of 12 attempting to do anything independently.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:46 PM on April 5, 2022 [6 favorites]


I think it’s not just a pedestrian oriented development situation, but that they’ve walked the route so many times with mom. A child in a car doesn’t learn the route like a child walking it does.
posted by Hypatia at 1:13 PM on April 5, 2022 [7 favorites]


Maybe I don't understand this show (I've watched a few episodes), but surely there are adults around (like the camera people and others) to guide the kiddies along the route making sure they don't get too lost or head out into traffic or whatnot.
posted by Pineapplicious at 7:47 AM on April 6, 2022


Yes, when you watch, you can see the camera people running around to stay ahead or behind them. There are lots of adults around. They are almost as fun to watch and the kids. They definitely are getting a work out.

I found this enjoyable and interesting but the anxiety is real. I have a hard time letting my 14 year old wander around with friends. I do it and he’s absolutely fine but the thought of letting a toddler out of my site is just too much.
posted by pearlybob at 7:53 AM on April 6, 2022


It's kind of irrelevant whether our tots could stay focused long enough to run errands, in the US anyway, since some fucking busybody would call child protective services at the sight of a child under the age of 12 attempting to do anything independently.

I like to think my attitude towards kids' independence strikes a judicious balance between 70s/80s laissez-faire and modern helicoptering, but if I saw a four-year-old wandering down the street unattended, I'm pretty sure I would attempt to corral them and find their adult.
posted by praemunire at 8:01 AM on April 6, 2022 [4 favorites]


So far my absolute favorites are the two boys in the penguin boots. They even made up an errand song!
posted by champers at 12:10 PM on April 6, 2022


So - based on watching a few episodes, there is at least a crew of 5-6 people involved, multiple camera people - and general safety/kid/concerned-public wranglers. Everyone seems to be wearing normal clothes, not uniforms or logo-wear, so they blend in fairly well with other passers-by.

I love this show, its perfect to watch at the end of my workday, while waiting to go homw.
posted by rozcakj at 4:57 PM on April 7, 2022


They also have their cameras disguised as boxes, etc
posted by Mogur at 8:27 AM on April 8, 2022


My favorite is the little boy carrying the cooler full of fish. That one is a dang journey.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:02 AM on April 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


I am just a few episodes into this and it is amazing how much I deeply empathize with these kids. I cheered out loud when the first kid remembers the curry. And then the little boy who hadn't made the juice but said he had. I am also totally working on that memo. And the girl who will cry because her mother isn't there. My mom spent the winter with me and recently moved home and that makes me want to cry, too.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:35 AM on April 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


I have now watched every episode Netflix has and I think that was the most pure and perfect thing I have ever seen. I cried through half of it because it was just so lovely.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:17 PM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


My favorite is the little boy carrying the cooler full of fish. That one is a dang journey.

Those dang apples. When he set the bags down a second time I literally shouted.

If you watch carefully, you can occasionally see random pedestrians doing a double take (or even helping, like jumpsuit dude in the above episode), but I think there are generally enough crew members around to make it clear that the situation is under control.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:22 PM on April 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


This show inspired us to try similar tasks with our own kids at about 4 years old, and it was eye opening to see how capable they are if given the chance to do things themselves. I think it strongly contributed to us recognizing them as actual people from a young age. So I suppose we have this show to thank for our kids’ development, in some ways!
posted by bakerybob at 8:44 PM on April 11, 2022 [12 favorites]


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