JAPAN: In Post-retirement Jobs, Elderly Men Nurture Youngsters

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Jun 18 2003 (IPS) - Ask toddlers at Yachihiro Hoikuen, a public day care centre in Joetsu city in northern Japan, who their favourite teacher is, and they enthusiastically point to 64-year-old Kazuo Ojima, the first elderly male caregiver to work in the centre.

"Ojima is kind and full of spirit. The children just love him and he is a great help to the female caregivers," Sanai Bessho, principal of the day care centre, says in an interview.

Ojima, a former employee at a steel manufacturing company, confounded his family two years ago when he applied for a job at the local public nursery. He joined the staff of the day care centre in April 2001.

”I decided I couldn’t bear to stay at home doing nothing after my retirement. By working as a child caregiver, I can keep busy and give something back to society," says the sprightly Ojima, who looks far younger than his years.

Ojima’s duties involve playing with the children and organising various activities, such as taking his energetic young charges on nature walks. He works five full days a week.

Ojima is one of 23 other retired male child caregivers who have taken up post-retirement work under a programme by the Niigata prefecture to encourage the hiring of seniors in public and private day care centres.

These days, retired men in Joetsu are hired on three-year terms at nurseries or day care centres. They work as full-time teachers and assistants in all kinds of activities, including some office work.

Ojima now heads the Hoikushi Association, which comprises male teachers and assistants in child care. ”The purpose of our organisation is to improve the quality of child care. We believe our services will help nurture children who will learn about Japanese traditions and values," says Ojima.

Analysts say the latest trend illustrates one of the more positive trends in Japan’s rapidly greying society, where people over 65 years now comprise 18.5 percent of the country’s 123 million people. Many elderly say they are bored and would welcome productive activity after working for decades in their companies.

"The new initiative works for both the elderly as well as the children," says Satoshi Shiraishi, the official in charge of child welfare at the Niigata prefecture.

He says senior child care workers report that they feel young and full of energy working with children, while the parents of these youngsters say they are happy that their children learn things that they would have never been able teach by themselves.

Shiraishi reports that the Niigata prefectural government has allotted 680,000 U.S. dollars a year as a special budget geared to expand the number of seniors in child care jobs.

This year, according to Shiraishi, 49 seniors applied for 10 openings in several day care centres, illustrating the growing popularity of these jobs.

Joetsu’s example is also spearheading a move among several other prefectural governments to start developing similar plans. Chiba prefecture, a large suburb of Tokyo, is now ready to launch a plan to accept seniors on a voluntary basis in child care.

In many ways, this trend that is leading to increased linkages between elderly people and young children, addresses some recent social changes in Japan.

For instance, the loneliness that elderly Japanese feel is highlighted by the erosion of traditional lifestyles in Japan, including one where grandparents were usually cared for by their children. The trend of elderly male caregivers has become one way of countering this decline.

"Rapid industrialisation has resulted in nuclear families and a surge in social problems such as child abuse and alienation. By having seniors playing an active role in rearing children, Japan can bring back the sense of community we have lost," says Norie Somemiya, a director at the Silver Human Resources Centres, a welfare organisation that has several branches across the country.

Parents also welcome the involvement of elders in bringing up younger Japanese.

Chizuko Okuyama, head of Bina Bina Circle, a child play group for full-time mothers, says that mothers like her view seniors as substitute grandparents for their children.

These ‘foster’ grandparents are appreciated because they provide new mothers with valuable support through the difficult child-rearing period. Often, child-rearing becomes the mother’s sole responsibility because the Japanese expect mothers to be there all the time for their children, and fathers work long hours outside the home.

"The system is a good idea because seniors provide the care and values of grandparents but at the same time, since they are not relatives, take care not to meddle with the lives of the nuclear family," Okuyama, a mother of three, explains in an interview.

Seniors also volunteer their time for child play groups in the various child care centres. Okuyama says the elderly draw up volunteer schedules to suit their energy levels and free time.

"There are no strict schedules to meet. The system is based on respecting each other’s needs and privacy, which blends well with modern Japan where parents want to be free from traditional shackles," she says.