Old Enough!: Netflix’s wacky Japanese show with some wholesome life lessons

I’ve often looked at the toddlers in my life with a mix of envy and frustration. “How good you’ve got it,” I’ll whisper as they shuffle from room to room, unburdened by the weight of adult responsibility. No worrying about what to cook for dinner tonight, when the next electricity bill might be due or who now runs Twitter.

So, imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled across Old Enough! on Netflix this weekend, a TV show brave enough to ask what we’ve all been thinking: can toddlers run errands?

Old Enough! is a beloved, long-running reality show in Japan where young children are secretly filmed running errands on their own.Credit: Netflix

For the uninitiated, Old Enough! is a popular Japanese variety show (original name: Hajimete no Otsukai or My First Errand) which, as the title suggests, sees toddlers given household errands to run by themselves while shadowed by a camera crew.

The tasks on the to-do list are charming – pick a cabbage for grandma’s favourite soup or buy udon from the local grocery store – but that doesn’t lower the stakes. In the first episode, two-year-old Hiroki must cross a busy highway while completing a two-kilometre round trip to the nearest supermarket.

Old Enough! has been airing in Japan since 1991, but Netflix only just licensed the program, releasing the series as a collection of 20 episodes running about 10 minutes each. Naturally, I binged the entire season in one sitting while texting all my parent friends and encouraging them to watch it with their underachieving children, as a public shaming exercise.

But aside from being one of the most unique shows on television, Old Enough! also doubles as a learning experience. With so much to worry about in the world today, watching adorable toddlers tackle menial tasks is a timely reminder that we’re capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. Here are the life lessons I picked up from season one of Old Enough!

Never, ever give up

Quitting is easy, convenient, and the power move of our generation, but just because something is a challenge doesn’t mean you should chuck it in. Returning to the first episode, Hiroki has been tasked with buying fish cakes, curry and flowers.

Arriving at the grocery store, Hiroki totally mind blanks (he encountered a big stick on the way, it was very distracting) and neglects to buy the curry. He’s halfway home when he realises what he’s forgotten.

Hiroki found this stick, and I found a deep appreciation for the life lessons hidden in each episode of Old Enough.Credit: Netflix

At two years and nine months, nobody would’ve blamed Hiroki for returning home curry-less and blaming it on baby brain. But he does the noble thing and turns around, toddling back to the store and declaring, “I need to return; I forgot the curry.” Inspiring, ridiculous, amazing.

Walk, don’t run

We exist in a fast-paced world that places an unhealthy importance on the value of immediacy. As a result, we now expect everything to be available instantly: our clothes, food and entertainment. But hurrying around can do more harm than good, as three-year-old Naoki learns in episode three.

Instructed by his mother to visit the local soy sauce maker, Naoki races to the store only to realise the shop is closed, and he has arrived too early. “They told us not to run,” warns fellow toddler, Seina, who is along for the ride. “You are too impatient.” Wise words from an old soul.

We have much to learn from the tiny stars of Old Enough, including the importance of buying balloons while shopping for food.

Challenge yourself

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway” is a quote attributed to the late, great Carrie Fisher. It’s sage advice, but I bet the Star Wars actress never had to catch a flounder from the hatchery attached to her family’s seafood restaurant. This is the horrific errand facing two-year-old Hana in episode nine, and as is her absolute right, she breaks down in tears at the very thought of having to complete it.

Small person, big dreams. The children on Old Enough put the rest of us to shame.Credit: Netflix

But after some encouraging words from her Uncle Ma (“Hana, come on!“), Hana overcomes her fears and gets the job done.

Make your kids do all your boring chores

If there’s a single major takeaway from watching Old Enough! it’s that all parents should start outsourcing the worst errands to their children. Imagine a world where you never had to do a Sunday night grocery shop because your independent toddler did it for you.

Old Enough! is streaming now on Netflix.

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