I always thought a little girl named Kira would be cute but i dunno what it means.. I also like the name Machiko which means fortunate... not sure

xD
 

Kira is Russian, derived from Greek name Cyrus which means Lord.
I couldn't find Machiko, but Michiko, also a feminine name, means beautiful wise child, which could be fortunate because being beautiful and wise is very fortunate. ^^

true that is very true thank you for your words of beautiful wisdom... ness...:mtongue:

Kira in Japanese means "sparkling". But it`s a bit like naming your child "Glitter" in English. It is okay, I guess, but it is a weak as a name. (edit to add: It is a name though, not just a word.)

With most Japanese names, what it means really has to do with how you write it. There are usually tons of ways to write a single name. The sounds alone don`t have any meaning - it all has to do with the Kanji used in writing the name.

Sachiko can mean many different things, as can Machiko (they`re both normal names with many different writings.) Recently names ending with "ko" are sort of falling out of favor because they sound really traditional, and a bit old. Whether that is a good or bad thing really depends on your personal feelings. I would compare them to names like "Martha". Sort of popular for middle aged women? Not as old sounding as "Ethel" or "Gertrude", but not young sounding either.

(And I again apologize for sounding rude. I really did not mean to at all. I`m not a rude person, and I didn`t intend to write that way. As I said, this really is just the way I write.)

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lol You're welcome
I try to be as helpful as I can ^^

I just wanted to make a point, that this forum topic is not only for people who are actually raising children in Japan.
It even says on the JapanForum.com home where it introduces this topic, that it is for people who are raising, thinking of raising, or are just curious of raising children in Japan.
I am curious, I just wanted to clarify. ^^

That`s okay. I see that now. But if you read the first few posts, it just sounds like you wanted to raise a Japanese child... But you didn`t say anything at all about it being in Japan. Also, you didn`t ask any questions.

So it didn`t really look good to my friends. (One has said she will register, but she really is rude sometimes, and means it, so beware!)

xD
 

I don't care.
I can hold my own against rude people.
Rude people, in the end, will get nowhere.
But anyways, back to the subject, do you know how schools in Osaka are?

alriugth ive enjoyed our little talks but i must bvid you all farewell for tonight see you all tommorrw (lol the next time i work) and untill then BE NICE!

xD
 

Pfft, I may not always be nice, but I'm polite, which is what matters ^^
Talk to you then.
P.S. I LOVE the candy Yan-Yan, it's better than Pocky. xD

But Pocky still owns.

I really hope you`re still not thinking I was intending to be rude... Because it really frustrates me when people think I was rude/impolite when I wasn`t actually intending to be. (If that was my intent, I`d be more than happy for people to think that way...)

I really don`t know about schools in Osaka. In general, Japan doesn`t have the same type of schooling system that there is in the US or UK. Usually, kindergarten is selected by the parents (some are very hard to get into, some very easy - some great quality, some poor quality) and most are privately run. They`re all expensive.
For gradeschool, it is most common to go to the nearest elementary school. There isn`t really any big difference between them. There aren`t really "bad parts of town" when it comes to schooling. There are some really famous bad parts of town in Osaka... Which is why I personally would never choose to live there... But I doubt they have much to do with schooling.
For middle school/junior high school, there is a choice between local schools and entry based schools. The entry based schools are often very hard to get into, but are sometimes cheaper than the local public schools.
The same sort of goes with high school, except that with high school, they`re all pretty expensive, and there is a lot more competition and the levels vary a LOT. All high schools are entry based, as far as I know. Meaning, you have to take a test to determine whether you can get in or not.

Osaka is a really big city, so there are *tons* of schools. You`ll have to check the rating and levels on all of them to know which are good. Especially if you`re going to base your living location on that. Because area doesn`t have much of an effect, good schools are scattered and not all in one area.

Ah, I see
I like Tokyo, but it's way too busy and too expensive
I know Osaka is also busy, but I've seen pictures and it seems a lot nicer than Tokyo.

Really? In my experience, Tokyo is generally cleaner and safer - mainly because it`s like a tourist capital. It has to look pretty.
Osaka is sort of a dirtier, more dangerous version of Tokyo.

I don`t like Tokyo, but I like Osaka even less.
I live outside the next largest city, Nagoya, which is clean, safe, and a lot cheaper - but still with all the amenities of the big city. (10 million people in this area) It`s generally cheaper because it`s actually designed around living and not looking cool (Tokyo) or making money (Osaka).

Hm
I'll keep that in mind when I move there
I'm going to be an English teacher there

really where ya gona teach at?
i wana liv in japan as well-so its most lykly ima gona be a techer

It seems that everyone that wants to go to Japan wants to be a teacher >.>
Anyways, I don't know where
I'm trying to get a scholarship for a year of study there and wherever they send me is probably where I'm going to end up teaching

H aha its true ... If everyone who wants to be an english teacher actually does it Japan will be more fluent than america in English .. lol
Nagoya sounds nice. I am going to take a 3-4 week trip traveling Japan to see the differences in the cities before I actually move there. I want to feel it myself y aknow? but all the info was new to me. Thanks for the input Btw.


and in other news: Yanyan kicks ass with sass/ pocky is cool too but ya gotta stick w/the best!

Also: I think we are all pas tthe rude thing... lol

xD
 

I really don't know..
I want to live in Northern Japan also cause of their snow monkeys and it's really beautiful and a good place where I'd like to raise a child..
Egh, I don't know.

Snow monkeys? *googles it*

ha ha snow monkeys~!




oh wait snow moneky?

xD
 

lol I mean the actual snow monkeys
They're so cute! ^^

yeah they are lol. I wonder if yoiu could have one as a pet? lol

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An outside pet, maybe
Like to feed it and name it...
But as a normal pet, no, monkeys are not supposed to be kept as normal pets ><

id rather have babies from 0 -1 , that is the sweetest part. They don't talk back yet, you can just cuddle them. Toddler , wheewww... that's the most tiring part.. they run around a lot, eat everything they could find but still cute anyway..

oh yeah, everyone was "squirted" once in their life. :D

I wonder why we are having this kind of thread here.. :D

xD
 

Well, to me she was rude, and I'm not the only one who thinks that
0-1, I can't stand that stage, I rather have age 3 and above, I want to avoid 2
It's not like I can have them for 0-1, ship them off when they're 2, and get them back when they're 3
It doesn't work like that
And I don't mind when children talk back to me, it means they're human and have a mind of their own and they're getting more dependent, which is what I want her to learn, to be dependent and speak her mind
I don't want a child that does everything I say, I want her to argue a bit
Just not cry, I hate crying ><

Yeah i agree I think for me when a child develops a mind of their own it adds more personality to them. It gives me something I can see who they are or what they are like. You can't tell that from a screaming bean of poop (no offense) ... I like them running around like psychotic monkeys.. that is what a kid does but the screaming and shrill noises when there is no reason or an unknown reason is too much for me.

awwwwwwwwwwww.
They are so cute when they're psychotic monkeys! ^^

japan's not too laid back though.
 

I'd probably want to specifically not raise my kids in japan just because it's just not very chill. There seems to be a lot of running around, doing structured activities like Ju Do and Yoga and Flower Arranging and Sports and Calligraphy and whatnot...while these are all awesome for teaching kids socialization, determination, and so forth...I'd kinda rather my kids got so bored they ended up riding down a hill in a wagon like calvin and hobbes :) probably i just want my kid to have a ton of free time because of how much i loved it when i was little.

also, I would like to say that it is very important to remember that kids are just as individual as adults are. I pretty much had to raise my little sisters too, and also spent a lot of time taking care of my cousins and other kids of all ages. Some of them did do a lot of tantrums and screaming and crying at 3/4yrs, but just as many did that more as babies. Then of course the babies who screamed a lot became the kids who screamed a lot.

also, on raising kids: my advice is just to make every decision based on love for your little girl. if you always keep her best interests in mind, and show her lots of love, she'll turn out just fine.

Also, if you get a toddler you may not be able to name her...i would have been furious if someone tried to change my name when i was four :) BUT you can always give her a middle name!

life as a parent
 

You guys are cute. Don't like crying? Don't like $#!t? Heh, as a parent, your standards really change. You will find yourself checking a diaper with the same finger with which you will, moments later, pop a chip into your mouth. Your will hear your child cry in the other room and think to yourself, "That's not the pain cry, that's the frustrated cry. He'll either take care of it himself or bring it to me." That's not all; you may be sitting around focused on something when your kids feeds you something and you'll think, "I hope that was food." Don't want that sort of life? Get a goldfish.

ha ha im sure i will warm up to certain aspects of parent hood but if somone told you kids feed you poo before you were a parent would you want one? lol

Prepared to parent
 

Choosing to become a parent has little to do with prepared. One can never be prepaired as the chasm between theory and practice is infinite. Having a child feed you something that you cannot readily identify is really the least of one's parenting worries.

very true. I've seen a lot among my friends whom I thought where not yet prepared to be a parent and they did not expect themselves too be a parent. But it does happened and I was really surprised of how responsible they have become. They are still carefree as I used to know them, but now they do knows how to sort of priorities.

:D

My head hurts from the stupidity in this thread.

But anyway I just wanna say in Osaka's defence, the 'bad areas' are paved with gold compared to a real city like London or NY. Why in London just walking across the road to buy cigs I have to be careful to not look at anyone the wrong way to avoid getting my head kicked in.

And the dirt and uglyness is just character!

This thread is very interesting.

As a reaction to an early comment, I love the name Sachiko, and I didn't know the -ko names were out of style...maybe they'll be back...lol

I want to live in Japan someday, which means possibly raising kids, and I'm not too eager to overpopulate the earth, so that means adoption. I would love to adopt Chinese children because 1. Asian kids are adorable and I don't want to have my own 2. I have heard many statistics about China being overpopulated and such that I would be eager to help.

Also, I would never adopt a baby, but I would adopt a child that's a little older, three plus maybe.

Adopting is very hard from your own country, let alone from somewhere else.

I've always said if I got older and didn't have kids (Or intended to get any of my own) I'd try adopting. I'd try Japan first, but I wouldn't hold my hopes high. More than likely if it seemed to impossible I'd opt for a British child.

And, usually, with adoption, you don't get specifics. You say you want a child, and usually can't state an age or sex, only preferences. They usually wait untill a child comes along and asks if you're interested - Whatever it's age/gender. Or from what I've seen, anyway.


Goodluck on getting a child when you're older.

I'd also looove to adopt a little japanese girl ^^
they're so kawaii !! :rheart:
or I'll have to find a japanese boyfriend :p

This is outrageous, I can hardly believe you're serious about that. When you adopt a kid you do it cause you want this kid to have a second chance in life, and you're just thinking of how great it would be to show off your lovely Japanese baby... That's so selfish! Japan doesn't need to put kids up for adoption but many other countries do, so stop talking about it as if it was some kind of game you can play with. Children are no pets, you know.

Adoption is incredibly difficult, not just the procedure, but the actual raising of an adopted child. A friend of mine has two children from China, and they have all kinds of (but the very normal) behaviour problems of children moved from one place to another. Babies are much easier as you will be all they've every known, but a small child (who will come with his or her own name, so picking her a new one and changing it would be very confusing and unsettling for them) will no doubt be traumatised by it all.

You have to think why a child is up for adoption, a baby can be given away, but a child could well have lost it's parents or been abused/abandoned. You have to be ready for that.

I know it seems like i'm raining on the adoption parade here, but it's for people who are dedicated to making a child's life better, regardless or it's age, sex or race. To have very specific child requirements would terrify and adoption agency or government, and there's no way most of them would give a child to someone who wished to dictate so much.

And in my experience, babies are sooooo much easier than children. While a child can be very well bahaved and cute (but not often!), there is an endless list of issues to be dealt with once they enter the world and mix with others, dealing with teachers, bullying, exposure to and dealing with sex/drugs/ambitions/competition and behaviour. It's not that those things are all bad, but it's all hard work and the choices and rules made carry much bigger consequences. Babies are far less worry.

I don't mean to be cruel, but it seems the maker of this thread would just love to have a little Japanese girl they could name and dress and adore, and whilst there's essentially nothing wrong with that, putting that dream into practice would be fraught with complications and moral repercussions.

Okay, for starters, I have no idea if anybody looks at this thread anymore, but for future reference, I'm adopted and Korean. Adopting is incredibly complicated. I've been growing up very confused lately. Most adopted kids have the same questions -If they never knew their birth parents-. I was only 3 months old when I was adopted. I never had the chance to understand why I was put up for adoption or anything. I had a closed adoption so my birth parents didn't want me to know anything about them which plain sucks. I was adopted into a white/Japanese family and I love them to death, but they never realized all the complications about adoption. Sure, go ahead and adopt but good luck.

I wonder how old some of you are, because to me you all sound very immature and shouldn't even be considering kids. And for those of you who are thinking of moving to Japan and living there, things are MUCH different than the U.S. There isn't as much freedom, family life is different. Oh, and for those of you thinking about becoming an English teacher, make sure you know all the aspects to the English language. Don't think that just because you can speak it makes you an expert. There's multiple things when it comes to teaching, which includes all the rules and the etiquette. So, I'm coming off a bit "rude" like some people before, but for good intentions.

So in other news, good luck with adoption.

Yours is the most sensible post I've read so far in this thread.