parenting

When my parents were young, action movies were about gunslingers, sheriffs and saloons. For my in-laws in Osaka, however, cinema was more about swords and samurai. Usually set in the Edo Period (1603-1868), jidaigeki, or period dramas, follow the sagas and clashes of Japanese warriors ...

The oven is pre-heating, the flour mix is being stirred, the cupcake holders are laid out and a team of diminutive chefs, in white hats and flowered smocks, are running amok. Except this is no ordinary baking session: for the cake mix is made of ...

We choose our friends but we don't choose our parents. Nor do they choose us. It's a pretty fraught relationship, sometimes, that between parent and child. Perhaps "love-hate" best describes it — hopefully with love dominant. Confucius said — and what Confucius said is not ...

Picking just the right spot for a holiday meal with children in tow can be a tricky affair; one that requires choosing a destination with good food, ambience and just enough room and background noise for junior to play — and stop you from ...

My toddler is hissing like a pantomime villain as she runs along an S-shaped snake made from sticky tape curled across the living room floor. This may appear to be just another freestyle game in her eclectic entertainment repertoire (and believe me, she has many, ...

Yoshimi Kawabe's daughter was 2 years old in 2008 when an unusual rash broke out on her hands and feet. Her family doctor at first thought the rash was caused by hand, foot and mouth disease — a contagious viral infection common in young ...

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan. But what if there was a vaccine that could prevent a certain type of cancer? And what if it was free? Mika Matsufuji's daughter received a free vaccine to prevent cervical cancer from Suginami Ward when ...

On a recent afternoon, my 3-year-old taste tester and I headed off to the ANA InterContinental Tokyo for a taste of its brand new Planet Trekkers children's menu, touted as a healthily balanced selection of dishes for kids. Arriving at the Cascade Cafe on the ...