JSランゲージスクールブログ | Families in Japan and United States
> TOP>> JSランゲージブログ>> Families in Japan and United States
Since May 15th is the International Day of Families, I would like to talk about some cultural differences between families in Japan and families in the United States. There are some interesting differences in family life between the United States and Japan.
One of the first differences I noticed when I lived with a host family in Japan is that when the children are young, they bathe with their parents. For an American, this is a bit weird. We might bathe together with our mothers when we are babies, but from maybe 4 or 5 years old we always bathe alone. Being nude is something very private in American culture so we do not like be to nude around other people, even our families.
Another difference I noticed when I stayed with a host family is that when the children are in school, the mother usually makes lunch for her children. In the United States, we normally eat at the school cafeteria. Usually our parents give us some money every week and we use that money to buy food at school.
Another difference between Japan and the United States is that in Japan, many times when grandparents get old, they come and live with their children. Because of this, many kids in Japan live with their parents and grandparents. I thought this was really fun. In the United States, it is very uncommon to live with your grandparents. I thought it would be really fun if I could have lived with my grandparents when I was young.
One other difference I have noticed is that in Japan, many families only have one car, even if 3-4 people in the family have a driving license. In the United States, in rural areas (where I am from) most families have a car for every person who can drive. For example, my family has 5 members and we have 6 vehicles. One is a truck for moving heavy things.
These are just some of the differences I have noticed in family culture so far between Japan and the United States.
