Kids, they're cute. Too cute for their own good?

It's debatable, the extent of which a child is cute. Personally I feel Japanese children glow with a light of cuteness that is so intense; it's as if all the other kids of the world are holding candles on the sun. That sounds pretty messy though. Is A-san's child cuter than B-san's, I have no idea. What I do have "some" idea about is when they stop being cute, and become real people. That's right, they become Japanese people! (Which is today's theme) "Why do kids have to grow up?" I have heard people say a thousand times (myself included); well the truth is that we as a race would not progress. Really? Yes. Why? Well, there is an overwhelming truth for children, they are pretty much inept at the mental and physical skills required to function as a member of society. This shocking truth is why kids are cute. It is also why kids cease to be cute at a point in their life. In Japan, it is schooling, society, and mostly self acknowledgement that rips them from the fluffy cradle into the reality that is life. Once the child is given an inkling of responsibility they are no longer inept, they are completing a function within society.

The general timeframe that I believe a child (more specifically infant) can remain cute in Japan is relative to its academic institutions. That is to say the entire span of one's academic career in Japan. Having recently watched a film portraying a Japanese preschool (Joseph Tobin's Preschool in Three Cultures: Japan, China, and the United States) I can safely say that this institution focuses less on academic merit, and more on child development. Most "preschools" can also be considered as daycare centers where working parents can keep their kids for the day, knowing that their kids are learning something (regardless of what that is).

In Preschool in Three Cultures there is a lack of adult interference with the children's social interactions. It is specifically noted and discussed. The answer given for the lack of interaction was: kids need to interact with each other on a peer level, not an adult's level. Their reason being that kids will learn valuable social skills and behaviors more easily, as well as enjoy just being a kid. Segwaying into my next topic, kids can pretty much do what they want (within their limits). Within any demographic, there is no more leeway given than in that of children. "They don't understand that what they are doing is (insert offensive subject material here)." This seems to be acknowledged by society in general, therefore letting kids be rude or rambunctious more often than in other cultures/countries. Why? I believe this has something to do with Amaeru, something Takie Lebra discusses in her article "Dependency". Amaeru, a Japanese concept of dependency, is what society and parents are doing for the children. Essentially sacrificing other's and their own ego's to better the kids. This is perhaps why Japan's image of childcare is so extreme.
As for my picture, this is a child climbing some stone steps that provided to be quite a challenge for her. She smiled so wide at her accomplishment just before this picture was taken. I was merely one of many taking pictures of her. In my opinion this is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. Note how her mother is letting her walk rather than carry her. This is only reinforcing the principles of Amaeru; the mother is sacrificing time and energy just to let her child conquer some rather difficult steps.