International Women's Day 2023 `` Younger generation talks about physiology in detail with parents and children '' Survey concludes | NHK

Changing parent-child conversation Talking about menstruation, pregnancy, menopause March 8, 4:49

"Mom, that's the blood of 'Gekkei', isn't it?"

A woman in her 40s living in Tokyo was recently told by her daughter, who is in the second grade of elementary school.

A woman who usually tries to talk openly about her body.

Now, it seems that the conversation between parents and children at home is changing.

We read from the survey conducted in conjunction with International Women's Day on March 8.

Adults are aware of this, but children...

On this day, Yuki Chiba (44) was reading a picture book with her daughter Misato, who is in the second grade of elementary school, to explain the structure of the male and female bodies.

A scene like this will appear.

A child taking a bath notices blood flowing from his mother's body and says:

"Hey, her mother, is she out there!?" "Are you

hurt

?

"Nowadays, girls say 'gekkei' and that's a big deal for everyone." It was about

three years ago that Mr. Chiba started buying these picture books.

She said she was groping at first.

Mr. Chiba

: “I bought some books for children and first read them together with my husband. There were times when I was confused.”

First, when the couple showed them a picture book that they were comfortable with, Misato looked at it with interest, as if she were looking at a picture book, disregarding the concerns of an adult.

She has since added more picture books, asking if she would like to read them, and now has them all on the shelf for free pick-up and reading.

Mr. Chiba

: "Children enjoy reading, and I think it's the parents who feel the hurdle."

Awareness that changes Younger generations are talking to their parents

A survey has been compiled to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8.

A company that provides health management services and other services conducts surveys for women in their teens to 50s, and listens to what they have talked about with their mothers.

For example, more than 80% of people of all ages answered that they have talked about “how to use sanitary products”, which is often taught by mothers when they have their first period.

However, when it comes to "menstrual pain" and "PMS = premenstrual syndrome", the ratio changes greatly depending on the age.

What is notable is that the younger the age group, the higher the proportion.

It can be seen that more and more families are passing on symptoms and coping methods from mother to child.

A representative of an advocacy group points to the impact of the Internet on these changes.

Mana Oishi, representative of the NPO HIKIDASHI

“As the distance between children and the Internet becomes closer, the information that children come into contact with at an early age may not always be correct. Also, I

think that people are slowly starting to recognize that it is important to have a proper understanding of each other as diverse ways of life are being respected.”

Things I wanted to know about my body that I couldn't talk about

Mr. Chiba reads a picture book about the structure of the body to a child.

It is said that her background was her own experience.

She seems to be on good terms with her mother, but for some reason she rarely talks about women's bodies such as menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth.

The one that left an impression on me was when she was in the upper grades of elementary school, shortly after she had her first period.

She said that she was worried about the change in her physical condition before her period, saying, "It might be just me" and "It might be some kind of disease."

It wasn't until she was an adult that she found out it was due to female hormones.

Even in her early 30s, when she was shocked when her OB/GYN doctor told her she was "difficult to conceive", she realized that she knew about her body and pregnancy much earlier. She said she felt she should have.

After that, she gave birth to her first child at the age of 36, and the second at the age of 43.

She wants her daughter Misato to have the correct knowledge about her body because of her experience so far.

When the Parent's Story Turns to "Myself"

Recently, there was an event that made me feel the change in Misato.

Misato, who noticed she was menstruating when they took a bath together, began telling her story of her picture book.

She said, "Mom, is that the one in the picture book?"

Misato

: “It overlapped with the boy in the picture book seeing his mother’s menstrual blood in the bath.

After that, it seems that the two of us read the picture book again.

Then, Misato said that she wanted to buy napkins and shorts for her period, so I promised to go shopping with her.

Mr. Chiba

: “I feel that my understanding has deepened, and I feel that it has become my own matter.

Create an environment where you can talk without overdoing it

Parent-child conversations are changing.

We asked the representative of an organization that conducts enlightenment what points to be careful about when talking about it.

Mana Oishi, Representative of NPO HIKIDASHI

“It is important to explain things scientifically and calmly, using picture books and other materials that aid in understanding visually. Since there are things that cannot be done, I recommend that you have a one-on-one dialogue where you only answer the questions that are asked.”

I just tell them not to overdo it.

“We are the generation that grew up feeling embarrassed or resistant to sexuality, so we don’t have to push ourselves too hard. Let's try it.' Once you get the feeling that it's taboo to evade and talk, it's hard to change, so create an environment where children can feel free to ask for help when they're in trouble. I think it is important to

March 8th is International Women's Day.

Why don't you talk about the body with your parent and child "without overdoing it"?