Thinking about 'Entertainment for Fathers and Children to Enjoy Together' for Father's Day

The third Sunday of June is 'Father's Day'.
It is said that it began when Sonora Smart Dodd in the United States, following the example of 'Mother's Day,' gave a white rose to her father, a veteran who raised her as a single parent, to show her gratitude.

In honor of this 'Father's Day,' we gathered four father employees working at SKY PerfecTV! to hold a roundtable discussion on entertainment that can be enjoyed with children.
We hope this will be helpful for fathers who are currently raising children and for those thinking about how to spend Father's Day!

The fathers who participated

First father employee: Mr. Z
Mr. Z: "I have two boys. The older one is in 4th grade, 9 years old, and the younger one is in 2nd grade. He just turned 7 recently."

Second father employee: Mr. M
Mr. M: "I also have two boys; the older one is 8 and in 3rd grade, and the younger one is 6 and in his last year of kindergarten."

Third father employee: Mr. G
Mr. G: "I have a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl."

Fourth father employee: Mr. N
Mr. N: "I have an 11-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy."

Strongly influenced? Father-child 'likes'

—To start off, is there any entertainment you usually enjoy with your children?

Mr. Z: "My younger child likes 'Air Crash Investigation' broadcast on National Geographic, and he was watching it all the time in May."

—'Air Crash Investigation'? That's an aviation accident investigation program, right?

Mr. Z: "Yes, it's a program that my wife and I liked, but he started watching it over our shoulders and said, 'I want to watch this!' Since we can't watch it in real-time, we record it on SKY PerfecTV! and watch it on the weekends."

Mr. Z: "I think he's probably hooked on airplanes. Maybe he learned technical terms from watching the show, because he plays pilot (laughs). Although, 'Air Crash Investigation' is about accidents, so I don't think the content is for children at all... Also, on YouTube, he's most hooked on railway live cameras."

Mr. M: "Are you serious? (laughs)"

Mr. Z: "I use the cast function to watch it on TV, but my wife gets mad at me."

—How do you enjoy the railway live cameras?

Mr. Z: "It's fun to see lines I've ridden before and watch various trains passing by in real-time."

Mr. M: "That's a deep world (laughs). Wow, that's super interesting!"

—Do you have any favorite live feeds?

Mr. Z: "The Chuo Main Line live camera. Trains only come about once every 30 minutes, but we look them up on the timetable, or when a special train is coming, we pick up information (online, etc.) and watch it."

Mr. M: "It's like the fixed-point camera at the scramble crossing you see on typhoon news. Do your kids wait and watch (the trains pass) too?"

Mr. Z: "Sometimes they get bored, but since they know it's coming when the crossing gate rings, they count how many cars go by (laughs)."

—That's a deep world! I could listen to a whole article's worth of train camera talk. They're really influenced by their father (laughs).

Everyone: "(laughs)"

*Mr. Z is also a huge train enthusiast! Please refer to the 'Train Geek Roundtable' for his thoughts on trains.

Mr. M: "In our house, it's mostly YouTube, especially nature-related stuff."

—Nature-related YouTube? Are there any series you're particularly hooked on?

Mr. M: "Maybe they're influenced because I like diving (in the ocean), but things like '[Spearfishing Fisherman] Masaru'. It's a young fisherman from Ie Island in Okinawa who just dives, catches various fish, and cooks them. When we went to Shikishima last summer, the kids and I went spearfishing. I caught a few fish and brought them back, and we cooked and ate them that night... After that, my 5-year-old was chasing fish with a spear for half a day."

Mr. M: "Also, I like videos of a guy called Kijii, who's known as the Tarzan of Okinawa, living a self-sufficient life naked in nature."

—Kijii-san is the person who also appeared on 'ItteQ', right? Following the trains, they are heavily influenced by their father.

Mr. M: "That's right. Also 'Homo Sapiens'. There are videos of him eating spiders, insects, and weird stuff, and it's addictive to watch (bitter laugh)."

—Is the video of eating weird stuff also an influence from you, Mr. M?

Mr. M: "No, the kids started watching that on their own. Maybe it's recommended from the nature videos. Since we live near the sea, they catch small gobies and bring them home, and my wife says, 'If you took its life, you have to eat it!' (laughs). That might have an influence, but they try to eat all sorts of things without much prejudice."

—They seem like they could survive anywhere (laughs). It's great that you're near the sea and can experience nature!

Mr. M: "I also do surfing and snorkeling, so thinking about it, they might be influenced by their parents. I also have them playing rugby because I used to play, but I become such a strict father when it comes to rugby that I can't even watch myself. I get too passionate."

Mr. G: "In our house, my oldest is hooked on games, and right now they're playing 'The Legend of Zelda'. I don't play much, but my wife started playing it because she likes it. It's a world with a high degree of freedom where you can do whatever you want, so they play in all sorts of ways."

—That's a popular series. It's an adventure game, right?

Mr. G: "There are mini-games within the game, and they collect items and defeat enemies. It's become like a second real life for them."

—Is it the kind of game where you can do more depending on how you combine items? It sounds like it would make you smarter!

Mr. G: "Yes, they stick various things together and operate them themselves. It seems like they've also gotten hooked on the main theme because of the game, and they listen to the music on repeat. They often hum the main theme from the boss battles."

Mr. G: "It starts with the game, but it develops into soundtracks and crafts. The other day, we made a sword and shield out of cardboard together. Though, I ended up making most of it... (laughs)."

――Doing crafts with your child is wonderful! What a heartwarming scene.

Mr. G: "It might be different from being 'hooked' on something, but I get a lot of questions like 'Why do cicadas chirp?', and since I can't come up with the answer right away, I often look them up and watch educational videos for kids on YouTube."

――It's a convenient world we live in. And I suppose YouTube is indispensable after all.

Mr. N: "My wife and I both love watching TV, and our kids watch everything—dramas, variety shows, and anime. For variety shows, they watch 'Dokkiri GP' and 'Chidori no Oni Renchan' and laugh a lot. My oldest is in 6th grade, so they've started watching romance dramas with my wife, and we all watch the morning drama together during dinner. What the kids really love is the 'Toso-chu' (Run for Money) anime."

――I didn't know 'Toso-chu' had an anime series.

Mr. N: "Yes, it airs on Sunday mornings. I guess they find the part where they successfully escape interesting. When they saw someone in a black suit and sunglasses on the way home from school, they excitedly said, 'There was a hunter!' (laughs)."

The amazing power of content for children, felt after becoming a father

――Is there any content that has left an impression on you since you became a father?

Mr. G: "I think the content I loved as a child is still strong today. Like 'Doraemon' or 'Super Mario.' I realized all over again just how amazing they are."

Mr. N: "Things like 'DRAGON BALL.' I wanted to read it myself, so I bought the whole set on Mercari, and both my kids ended up reading it too."

――I read the manga my parents owned too! Content that can be enjoyed across generations is amazing.

Mr. N: "What moved me after becoming a parent was the 'Shimajiro' movie. My kids have been doing Shinken-Zemi since they were in nursery school, and I think it's content that's well-designed to connect with their nursery school experience."

――That brings back memories! Can adults actually get moved to tears watching a 'Shimajiro' movie?

Mr. N: "You might cry once you have kids. They go on an adventure by themselves, and as a parent, you worry, but in the end, you're glad they went on the adventure. I end up projecting myself and my kids onto them... and I get a bit teary-eyed."

――So you end up watching it from the perspective of Shimajiro's father. Next, is there any content that has helped you with parenting?

Mr. G: "I usually read books to them myself, but when I absolutely can't free up my hands, I use YouTube's picture book readings. Also, for things like 'Hamigaki Jouzu Kana' (Are You Good at Brushing?), they'll follow along with the video until the end."

――That's the 'Mommy finishes the job' one!

Mr. G: "NHK's E-Tele in the morning has various short programs, so it's easy to say 'When this is over, we're done' during the busy morning hours. I wonder if that's also by design."

――Indeed. I wasn't conscious of it, but I remember being told that when I was little (laughs).

Mr. Z: "I have the Disney movie 'Cars' downloaded on my iPad. My son has been going to the hospital for a fracture recently, and even if the wait is long, playing the movie makes the time pass... I often use movie content for portability. It's a lifesaver when going to hospitals or restaurants where there's a wait."

--It's great to be able to download things to kill time while waiting! It's a good era.

Mr. M: "It's not exactly content, but... my older child plays with LEGO quite a bit, and I think it's good brain training. LEGO has blueprints for a finished product, but even after building it once, they take it apart and build things they've seen using various parts. I think it's good brain training for them to build based on their imagination without even needing assembly instructions."

Mr. G: "My child watches YouTube and builds things exactly as shown. Like Pokémon."

Mr. M: "There are different types, aren't there? (laughs)"

A father's thoughts for his growing children

--Finally, please tell us how you would like to spend time with your children as they grow up.

Mr. Z: "Content on screens is fine, but I want to emphasize real-life experiences in connection with that."

--Like riding trains or airplanes together?

Mr. Z: "Exactly."

Mr. N: "I think that interest in various things is often sparked by movies or content. So, entertainment is like a gateway to interest. If (my child) becomes interested in something, I want to join them, and I wonder how long they'll be willing to join me in the things I want to do (laughs)."

Mr. M: "I also want to let my child do various things as long as they have the desire to do them. We want them to experience many things, but I want to make sure I provide those experiences while they still have that natural curiosity. Also, my wife said, 'Why don't you go on a guys-only trip? I know people who do that,' and I thought, 'Oh! Really!' I'd like to try a guys-only trip."

Mr. Z: "Maybe your wife just wants some time alone (laughs)."

Mr. M: "She did say, 'I'd be able to relax if you did that' (laughs). Well, I don't think there are many opportunities to go on a trip with just your father, so I want to do something that will remain in their memory when they look back."

--A guys-only trip with Mr. M's family sounds like it would be a survival experience.

Mr. G: "I hope there's at least something we can enjoy together. Whether it's sports or crafting, I'm not sure. For some reason, playing catch was something I had wanted to do since I was a child if I ever became a father. They're still at an age where it's difficult to play catch, but I hope we can do it someday."

--Playing catch between a father and child is wonderful. That's something to look forward to when they get older. Thank you for your time today!