How to Entertain the Kids? Make ‘em Work!
I recently noticed the above picture on a delivery pizza menu. No, “Pizza-La” haven’t introduced a policy of child-labor. Apparently, it’s an ad for a place called “Kidzania” in Toyosu’s LaLaport complex in Tokyo, where kids go to try out different jobs for fun. Kind of like an employment-themed amusement park.
According to the offical site, it’s “a child-sized replica of a real city, with buildings, shops and theaters, as well as vehicles and pedestrians moving along its streets. In this city, children, aged 2 through 15, learn about the adult world, and the value of money and work, by experiencing over 60 different professions.”
As a child, I would have moaned “this sucks, where are the rollercoasters?!” but it’s no surprise that in Japan, where children are insanely bright and well-behaved, it’s a smash hit.
But before anyone says “only in Japan”- the idea comes from Mexico, and there are already two Kidzanias in Monterey and Mexico City.
I can’t decide if this is a cute idea which effectively teaches children about employment, or part of a cynical corporate agenda to “get ‘em while they’re young.” Hmm.
You can read about it in more detail here
