Survey Summary: The “82-Minute Gap” Between Parents and Children
The survey highlighted a significant discrepancy between children’s aspirations for independence and parents’ comfort levels:
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Children’s Adventurous Spirit: 63.9% of children expressed a desire to “freely go to various places” as they anticipate new beginnings.
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The “82-Minute Wall”: Children wished to explore areas an average of 99 minutes away from home, whereas parents felt comfortable sending them only up to 17 minutes away. This represents a 5.82-fold difference, creating an “82-minute wall” between parents and children.
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Dilemma of Support vs. Restriction: While 84.8% of parents wished to support their children’s challenges, 66.9% admitted to restricting their children’s activities, revealing a conflict between ideal and reality.
Increased Anxiety Over Children’s Solo Activities
Parental anxiety regarding children’s solo activities has risen by approximately 13% compared to 30 years ago, with 64.3% of parents expressing concern.
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Commute vs. After-School: While 57.1% of parents felt secure during school commutes, more than half harbored anxieties about after-school activities.
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Beyond School Districts: Over 80% of parents expressed anxiety about children traveling outside their school district, primarily due to the risk of traffic accidents.
The Paradox of令和’s Supervision: Enhanced Community Watch, Yet Rising Parental Stress
Despite common perceptions, the survey found that community watch efforts in令和are more extensive than in the Showa era:
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Doubled Community Watch: The rate of community supervision during specific times, such as school commutes, is more than double in令和compared to the Showa generation.
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Increased Volunteerism: Participation in neighborhood watch volunteer groups and PTA duties has increased tenfold compared to the Showa era, indicating a more organized and robust community watch environment.
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Rising Burden of Dual-Income Households: The increase in anxiety, despite enhanced community support, is linked to the reality of over 80% of households being dual-income, leading to children and parents spending more than 9 hours apart. The extended periods when children are outside the direct supervision of their parents contribute significantly to parental mental burden.
The survey underscores the current dilemma where children’s desire to “try new things” conflicts with parents’ instinct to “protect.” Supporting children’s independence requires not restriction, but rather creating an environment where both children and parents can feel secure. This calls for new approaches to supervision that leverage technology to connect families, enabling parents to choose “support” over “restriction.”
The survey methodology details can be found at: https://www.ideation.co.jp/column/child_gps2025
About BoT Talk Child Monitoring GPS
BoT Talk is Japan’s only AI-powered monitoring robot that provides personalized supervision by learning family habits and communication patterns from movement history and voice messages. This palm-sized device not only tracks location to inform parents but also allows unlimited voice message (talk) exchange between BoT Talk and parents’ smartphones. It serves as a communication tool for daily contact and urgent SOS situations.
Equipped with voice AI capabilities, BoT Talk can transcribe voice messages into text for parents and read out text messages as audio for children. This feature facilitates communication in environments where voice playback or recording might be challenging, such as on trains or in quiet offices.
BoT Talk also features an industry-first “Anshin Display” (Peace of Mind Display) that shows the time and battery level. This helps children develop habits of managing their own belongings, such as adhering to schedules and charging the device. The display also shows the time a “talk” message was received, preventing misunderstandings, and displays the sender’s (parent’s) icon to provide reassurance and encouragement to children. Crucially, the display is dedicated solely to monitoring and does not include functions like videos, games, or social media, ensuring a secure and focused experience.
Bsize Inc. Overview
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Company Name: Bsize Inc.
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Representative Director: Keita Yagi
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Business: Telecommunications business, planning/design/manufacturing/sales of home appliances
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Location: EPIC TOWER SHIN YOKOHAMA 14F, 3-2-3 Shinyokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 222-0033
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Established: September 2011
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Capital: 5 million JPY
