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Babysitting sites to face stricter guidelines for gov't listing

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Could you think of a scheme more ripe for child abuse? That these protections were not set up in advance is just mind-boggling.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Important rule of parenting: NEVER leave your child in the care of anyone you don't personally know and can trust 100%.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

An independent survey from Nov 2020 of 5899 sexual assault victim respondents disclosed “34% answered that they harassed (by guardians); 59% assaulted involving insertion (by guardians)” and “*over 80% of respondents who claimed they were sexually abused via insertion of bodily organs by parents, parents' partners, relatives or caregivers, were aged 12 or younger *- highlighting the severity of sexual abuse of children. - Mainichi

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Important rule of parenting: NEVER leave your child in the care of anyone you don't personally know and can trust 100%.

Sound good, now try it in Japan if you don't have close family living near enough to you.

I raised 2 children as a single father, unlike where I am from the practice of hiring a close friend or neighbour's older child as a babysitter is non existent in Japan.

Even asking a friend to keep your child for a few hours while you take the other to the hospital for their weekly treatment is going to turn into an awkward situation as they try to politely say they can't.

These services are very expensive, often requiring registration fees in the tens of thousands of yen, then the hourly rate is very high with a minimum number of hours to be paid regardless of the length actually needed, if you need a sitter on short notice ( back then it was about 2 days prior or more) then the rates jump even higher.

Honestly Japan has or at least had when my children were young a good public daycare at reasonable cost and until the 3rd grade good low cost public after school care, but once that ends and anything outside the hours offered by those 2 services, the options are very limited and very expensive.

I often found myself losing money because my choice was to go to work and pay a sitting service more than I wil make that day or lose my Job for not being able to go to work like the rest of my male co-workers outside normal hours.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Despite all the arguments for gender equality, I don’t think it’s appropriate for men to be babysitting girls.

Thought you were all in favour of traditional family units.

Women should be allowed to babysit anybody.

Does that apply to LGBT women?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Zero safeguarding, no sex offenders register. Third world country.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

OK, it’s about matching sites. Reading the headline, I wondered how a business model ‘babysitting sites’ would look like, when up- or downloading babies and toddlers byte packages wise....lol

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Zero safeguarding, no sex offenders register. Third world country.

Well not so fast with the Third world thing.

Oddly enough much if the EU despite certain regulations in sex offender cases, there really isn't any set rules or any true registry requirements.

In fact few countries of the EU actually do have one as we from Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and UK see them.

In fact the UK was actually in violation of EU privacy laws by having publicly available registration.

So seems Japan in in some fine first world company, as Japan does have the information available but not publicly.

The law stipulate that those hiring in certain sector must have the employee get a background check from the justice department.

Had these companies done their job and followed the law these people would never have been hired.

I unfortunately had to do "teaching" with young children and only one preschool actually followed the law and required I provide a background check from the justice department, which then required I provide the Japanese justice department with a background check from my own country which I did.

I later learned that this is supposed to be done by all daycares and preschool which never did except that one time I wasn't even ask by a city for anything other than my CV.

The laws are in place now it is time for the police to enforce them.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Burning Bush

Despite all the arguments for gender equality, I don’t think it’s appropriate for men to be babysitting girls.

Women should be allowed to babysit anybody.

We have a 3mo. old baby girl and I am a man! Are you implying that it is inappropriate for me to watch my daughter, bathe my daughter or change her nappies whilst my wife is out? I've babysat children from age 2 and upwards when I was younger, even here in Japan and INCLUDING baby girls and their parents would trust their daughters/sons/babies lives in my hands. So please take your negative remarks elsewhere.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Burning - on balance maybe, but just google female babysitter abuse and the international press has many stories of femaie babysitters abusing infants in the charge. Of course this whole "industry" should be highly regulated.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Antiquesaving

I sympathized with you and should have qualified my statement as I did below. Much respect to you for raising your children as a single parent. (As I did for a few years)

Important rule of parenting: As much as possible avoid leaving your child in the care of anyone you don't personally know and can trust 100%.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Suspected child abuse is up 8.9 percent in Japan for 2020. - The welfare of children seldom gets the daily headline here. For example, this was news everywhere else: Mar 5, 2021  ‘Child abuse cases across Japan top 100,000 for first time” - “NPA data released Feb. 4, 2021 shows that suspected child abuse is up 8.9 percent, 8,738 from the previous year. - Source: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14200517

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So the stricter guidelines is just adding more paperwork. Typical.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

"Under the new guidelines, site operators will also be asked to immediately notify users of misconduct by babysitters and submit documents proving their registered sitters all completed proper legal registration with authorities."

So before they didn't need to tell users of misconduct by employees and could hire people without proving their qualifications. Well what could possibly have gone wrong?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Let's see here,

My septic tank gets checked 4 times a years by a private operator that costs over 12,000 a year, plus the state come once a year to check the same $hit tank and make sure it is NOT contaminating the local drainage and river and that costs 5,000 a year, you guys mean to tell me that our kids are being cared for by LUNATICS and NOT being checked by the Authorities!???

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Just ask your friends' local high schooler babysitters, lol

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So before they didn't need to tell users of misconduct by employees and could hire people without proving their qualifications. Well what could possibly have gone wrong?

Not exactly. Two part answer to that.

Previously they did not have to tell users of misconduct but legally they were supposed to tell the authorities.

The law has long been that the companies were required to have potential employees register and get a background check, but many companies were not following the law.

So now from this point I am just guessing. But if I understand correctly, the new law requires notification of all past clients that used an employee accused or found to have done some form of misconduct.

And the law has been strengthened to penalise companies that violate the law and do not follow the registration and background check requirements.

As I pointed out previously, if the law is strictly followed most ALT would not be working in any daycare, preschool or primary school as most likely none were asked to provide a police background check and if the law is strictly enforced and depending on how long they have been in Japan the police may require a background check from every country they have lived in in the past 5 years.

Example: if they have been in Japan 3 years and previously Australia one year and the UK before that then they will need a background check from Australia and UK submitted to the Japanese police whom will then provide the needed OK if all is fine.

I know because that is what I was required to do but only from one other country and Japan.

So now seeing how the law works, we can see why so many places don't follow the law.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just ask your friends' local high schooler babysitters, lol

The reply will be No!

They parents will not let their highschool child do it and not will they.

The fear of problems if something happens is far to high and in all the years when my children were young not one Japanese would accept babysitting my children stating they cannot take such a chance and responsibility.

Now you may understand better the reason for so many "Double kitchen" tiny homes, grandparents are right there if needed.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

You're so great

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Understood Your point @zichi. It’s a ‘shared responsibility’ raising children. - Some people are just ‘haters’ for @NoReason.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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