COVID-19 changing municipalities' approach to mandatory baby checkups

Japan is an excellent country to raise a baby. Top of the line services. Not so much to raise children though. Already planning my escape to raise mine, she’ll be 16 months soon, it’s high time to escape discrimination and a sure life of social pressure and overwork

Agree. Support for young kids is tops. Problem is when they reach school age.

And there's lack of daycare institutions so many mothers are unable to work

As a parent of two kids being raised here, I’m not sure I agree with the “Japan is a bad place to raise kids” view. On the one hand, yeah there is a lot of stuff that does suck especially with the school system. On the other hand, a lot of those negatives are offset by the positives, many of which can be described as “things I don’t have to worry about here but would be extremely anxious about if raising my kids elsewhere”.

I think on balance Japan isn’t a bad country to be raising kids in.

What are these group check-ups like? It's a foreign concept to me.

A bunch of babies and mums in the room at the same time, and the doctor checks them conveyor belt style? Whilst everyone in the room can hear each other's results?

If this is how it's like, then absolutely no thanks. Not even when there's no pandemic around.

This same problem applies to multiple health-related services and practices here: no privacy.

Therefore I'm really happy for the parents if they get the individual check-ups for their babies - this should be the norm.

Sorry, need to edit my previous comment a bit:

"A bunch of babies, mums or dads, in the room at the same time"