You don't have to hold back when talking about travel or your children. A world where no one compares | The journey of a travel-loving woman in her late 30s learning multiple languages

Hola, I'm Teresa.
I joined the Hippo Family Club this April, and while I casually work on multilingual learning with my son (we don't do desk-based study),I occasionally travel around the world and interact with local people as much as possible..

Have you ever hesitated to talk about your child's growth, thinking, "Will this sound like I'm bragging?"

Whether it's that they suddenly started imitating words, learned a new expression, or took on a wonderful challenge... even though it's big news for the family, in normal conversations with other moms, you might feel strangely cautious or find yourself "adjusting" what you say based on the other person's reaction. Even though you just want to share your pure joy, I think there are moments when your heart closes up if there is even the slightest "atmosphere of comparison" with those around you.

I thought there might be various worries just by thinking about it a little. Life is hard for Japanese people, isn't it? Haha.

■ Anxiety about being thought of as bragging: Just saying "My child can do this now..." makes me worry if it will be taken as "flexing."
■ Worrying about comparing or being compared to the other child: If even a hint of a comparative atmosphere like "Mine can't do that yet" or "Isn't that too early?" appears, it becomes hard to talk.
■ Holding back because you don't know the other person's situation: Since I don't know the detailed background, such as children with slower development or families with busy jobs, I choose my topics carefully.
■ The atmosphere that it's safer to avoid "happy-looking stories": I worry that "happy stories" like "travel," "family events," and "child's growth" might make people jealous.
■ Shallow reactions (not knowing if they are truly interested): If the conversation stops at "Oh, that's great," I somehow can't talk any further.
■ Anxiety about rumors spreading later: The smaller the community, the more I worry that small topics will spread on their own.

…Or, this applies even to myself as an adult. For example, I don't want people to think, "Oh, you went abroad again?" It's also common to feel a bit of jealousy or distance behind someone saying, "It sounds like you're having fun." Even someone as blunt as me is somewhat careful about who I talk to and how I express things. Haha.

I don't want to brag about "how much I'm earning" (it's a budget trip anyway lol), I just want to share my experiences honestly, but I feel like I'm being compared to the other person's life and values, so I avoid the topic itself. Since that's the case even for light travel stories, I'm even more careful about my child's growth or happy family news... I think many people have that feeling of "wanting to talk but finding it hard to talk" somewhere in their hearts.

But at the Hippo Family Club, that feeling is completely different. Here, there is an atmosphere where parents can talk about their child's changes and discoveries with "honest feelings." No one evaluates, no one judges, and there is no competition. It's a place where people just accept you directly, saying, "Oh, so that's how they grew," or "That child's [trait] is wonderful." It's like there's "no ulterior motive."

By the way, this is a growth of my son's that I was recently impressed by. Of course, I announced it to the family, and I felt like everyone understood which part was wonderful. I was happy.

For example, even with topics about overseas travel, the reaction here is completely different. While conversations usually end with "That's nice," at Hippo, everyone is interested in your own realizations, asking, "What did you discover there?" or "What kind of words did you encounter?" Because they listen to the discoveries and surprises born there rather than the trip itself, it's very comfortable to talk, and my own experience becomes a trigger for broadening someone else's perspective. This kind of "way of listening" naturally exists here. This might truly be the thing I was happiest about after joining.

Someone who is actually participating with their grandchild told me this: "Surprisingly, it's not as easy as it seems to comfortably share the joy of a grandchild's growth with friends of the same generation. At Hippo, regardless of whether you have grandchildren or children, you are treated equally as a human being, and it's very comfortable to be able to talk naturally as an extension of that."

Um... honestly... receiving things neutrally is actually very difficult. Even if you intend not to compare, you might unconsciously compare your own life and your child's situation, or conversely, feel like you are being compared by the other person. When that happens, the conversation ends without you being able to say even half of what you wanted to say. But in the Hippo space, that "pressure of comparison" disappears completely. This is because it is based on the premise that it is natural for everyone to be different and that it is okay for every family to have their own story.

Oh, of course, there are many single people, and adults without children are also there as usual.But there is absolutely no atmosphere of "holding back for that reason." Rather, as it is often said here that "babies are teachers," regardless of age or family structure, everyone can enjoy the world of language on the same footing. So, whether you are a parent or not, you can participate with peace of mind at your own pace, and the feeling that it's okay to talk about what you want to talk about grows naturally.

Every time I listen to someone's presentation (mic time), I feel relieved, thinking, "There is so much variety in child-rearing" and "My child's pace is fine too," and the tension in my shoulders just melts away. It's supposed to be a language club, but the interesting thing about Hippo is that it even softens human relationships and how you view child-rearing. While watching my child come into contact with language, I feel like my own heart is also unraveling.

Oh, if you are interested, visiting once is the fastest way!
In the end, rather than reading someone's writing and becoming suspicious, wondering "Is it really like that?," seeing is believing. You will understand from the atmosphere. You will surely feel, "Oh, a place like this might not have existed before!"

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