A third-grade elementary school girl is obsessed with sticker trading. After-school sticker trading and a father's story of not knowing the right answer

Introduction

While getting ready in the morning, a single word can sometimes change the atmosphere of the house a little.
I'm going to trade stickers after school today.

Watching my daughter's back as she put on her backpack while saying that, for some reason, I felt a slight stir in my chest.

Third grade of elementary school.
What she is most obsessed with right now is not studying or sports, butsticker trading.

To be honest, I didn't really understand it at first.
Is that really so important?
You have more again, but can you manage them?

Every day is a rush of time with both parents working.
I found myself looking at the children's world through the lens of adult convenience and efficiency.

In this article,
I would like to write about the reality of after-school life that I've come to see through my daughter's sticker trading, and
my own confusion as a father.

Sticker trading started around autumn

My daughter started getting hooked on sticker tradingaround autumn.

It was when the sports festival was over and the days were getting shorter little by little.
It was the timing when we switched from short sleeves to long sleeves and the air in the mornings and evenings started to feel chilly.

At first, it was stickers that came as a freebie from a stationery store.
Isn't this cute?
It should have started with that light comment.

But before I knew it, the center of conversation was stickers.
I was able to trade with so-and-so today.
This one is popular, you know.

It was a time when human relationships in the class settled down after the summer vacation,
and the distance between friends was changing.
It seemed likesticker trading slipped right intothat flow.

Sticker trading is not allowed at school

By the way, at my daughter's school,bringing a sticker book is prohibited.

Therefore, sticker trading does not take place inside the school.

It happens after she comes home from school,
puts down her backpack,
and leaves the house saying, "I'm going out to play!"

The time after school to play with friends.
That is the time for sticker trading.

It might be on a park bench,
or at the entrance of a friend's house.
They quietly open their sticker books,
and a small exchange begins, saying, "Will you trade this for that?"

There are no teachers watching,
and there are no detailed rules.
There,there is a world only for children.

Cute is cute. That is a child's standard

First of all, as a premise,
for children, 'cute is cute'.

It doesn't matter if the stickers are foreign,
domestic,
or whether they are character-themed or not.

'If it's cute, that's all that matters.'
That is the straightforward feeling of a third-grade elementary school girl.

On the other hand, from a parent's perspective, the reality is quite tough.

Although stores have signs saying
'sticker restocks are irregular,'
honestly, a state of almost no stock continues.

Even if I peek into stationery stores
or go around 100-yen shops,
it is rare to find the stickers we are looking for.

Sometimes, if I'm lucky enough to find
'stickers that might be useful' for after-school trading,
I think to myself, 'Today was a win.'

Basically,
even if I go with the expectation of 'I wonder if they have any today?',
it is overwhelmingly more common to end up empty-handed.

Online shopping is the most reliable. But, a father hesitates

In that case,
the highest probability is, after all, online shopping.

If I search on Amazon or Rakuten,
I can secure a certain amount of variety and quantity.
To continue after-school sticker trading,
realistically, that is the only option.

However, here as a father, I pause for a moment.

I wonder,
how much should an adult intervene in this?

Is it the right thing for an adult
to get involved with sheer volume in children's play?
If there aren't enough stickers,
wouldn't it be better to let them experience that too?

Honestly, I have such hesitations.

But, watching my daughter and her friends, I also understand something.

They are not so much interested in collecting stickers,
but rather enjoying
the time spent trading using stickers itself.

After school,
they talk with friends,
laugh,
and come home talking about 'what I traded today.'

Watching that,
I feel like it's okay to prioritize
'whether they look like they are having fun right now' rather than 'whether it is the right answer'.

Summary

Watching my third-grade daughter obsessed with sticker trading,
what I felt was,
that 'children are truly observing reality.'

Even in play,
and in relationships,
she is judging the situation and preparing in her own way.

What parents can do is,
not to manage everything,
but to quietly support where things are lacking.

I don't know if it's the right answer,
but if my child is having a good time,
I'll lend a hand just a little.

Having accepted that,
this dad is searching for stickers on Amazon and Rakuten again today.

#DualIncome
#40sDad
#ChildRearing
#ThirdGradeElementary
#StickerTrading
#AfterSchoolActivities
#ChildrensWorld
#SoloParenting
#DualIncomeFamily
#FathersPerspective
#ParentingEssay
#ParentingWorries
#FamilyReality
#HowToFaceChildren
#WorkAndFamily
#ManagerFamily
#EmpathyEssay
#DailyRealizations
#ParentalConflict
#ParentingRelatability
#AIUtilization
#Retry
#LifeShift
#ParentingAndWork
#Kanebisu
#NoteDad
#FathersRole
#GrowthRecord
#FamilyTime
#DualIncomeParenting