[Emotional Education Item 007] What are Lunchbox Cards? | A habit from the US that conveys love to children and fosters self-esteem

Hello!
Has it started to get a little cooler in Japan?

How have you been?

This week's <Emotional Education: Global Teaching Material Item Report> introduces
something I encountered around the time of our mother-daughter study abroad trip to Malaysia in 2022,
which both my daughter and I grew to love:
the American
<Lunchbox Cards>.

A tool to casually convey parental love

Lunchbox cards are
in American households,
message cards placed in
the lunchbox children take to school.
They are also called Lunchbox Notes.

Perhaps they were originally handwritten cards,
but nowadays,
cards with short messages printed on them are sold in packs of 50 or 100 on sites like Amazon.

The ones we fell in love with werethese products from the New York publisher Peter Pauper Press.

Packed with classic phrases of love for young children.

The words written on the cards are
classic, love-filled phrases
that parents in American householdssay to their children.

I think they are a very American item
that allows you to easilyand directly
convey,
'I'm thinking of you even while you're at kindergarten or school,'

It seems some families
write handwritten messages on the back.
We
enjoyed decorating various places in our home with them.

Looking back now,
I am glad that we were able to encounter these phrases
that American children naturally grow up withbefore our study abroad trip.

So, what about in Japan?

These lunchbox cards
are likely related to the card culture in America.

In America, not only for birthdays or celebrations,
but also for small thank-yous or farewells,
there is a culture of sending cards.
A wide variety of cards are sold.

I think this is similar to the Japanese custom of using a small letter pad to convey thanks.

And, regarding lunch boxes,
I don't think there are many families in Japan that routinely put letters in them,

but regarding this,
I would like you to watch the following YouTube video,
but putting thoughtsinto the lunch box itself
is also
a uniquely Japanese
way of conveying love, I think.

I am once again
re-evaluating
how wonderful
Japanese lunch box culture is.😊

Global Emotional Education Items
Weekly Report
The seventh one
American Lunchbox Cardswas
delivered.

If you would like to see
the previous items, please look here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!