Home Visit Diary: A couple's thoughts on raising children

Name	Ms.
Your product	Dining table, baby chair, slightly larger picture book stand, changeable chair/sticker, gachapon toy, den-den-daruma, and animal square box set
Residence	Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
Family Composition	Family of three

This time, we interviewed Mr. M at his home.

Mr. M's home is within walking distance of the Nakayoshi Library Kobe store. It seems that Motomachi Shopping Street is on his daily walking route. He always stops by the Kobe store during his walks.

The staff at the shop also enjoy watching her daughter Mirai-chan (hereafter referred to as "Mi-chan") grow up every day♪

Usually, you come to our store, but this time I, Kawazoe, a staff member at the Kobe store, will be visiting you at home to find out about the charms of Nakayoshi Library that only you can understand!!

Kawazoe

Here you go ♪

Mr. M's encounter with Nakayoshi Library

Ms. M started coming to Nakayoshi Library after buying a gift for a friend's baby shower. Since then, she has not only bought toys and furniture for her children, but also toys from Nakayoshi Library for every baby shower gift for her friends.

Kawazoe

You always choose toys from Nakayoshi Library as gifts for your friends' baby showers. Why do you choose them, and what was the reaction of your friends when you gave them gifts?

Mr. M's family

Everyone is happy with wooden toys because they rarely buy them for themselves. Toys from Nakayoshi Library are safe to use, and by using them, they will come to understand the goodness of wood.

Kawazoe

That's true! When you hear "wooden toys," you may imagine them to be expensive, so you probably don't have the opportunity to buy them yourself. But I'm glad that people can understand how good they are by using them.

Mr. M's family

My friend bought a toy from Nakayoshi Library for her first birthday after receiving a wooden toy as a baby gift.

Kawazoe

thank you!!

When Mr. M came to our Kobe store with his friends, he explained the toys to his friends and told them about their great points, just like the staff of Nakayoshi Library (or even more so...lol)!

I found the stories, which were based on real experiences, to be very persuasive.

Mr. M's family

Although I have never seen how Nakayoshi Library's toys are made, I can tell just by touching them that they are made with care and of high quality. So I can confidently recommend them to my friends.

When I'm in the store, I get a lot of feedback from customers. Feedback that can only be understood through actual experience is truly valuable, and it's these feedback that allow us to create new products!

It seems that the products you purchased from Nakayoshi Library are being used a lot at home, so I would like to hear more about them.

I'm usually the one showing people around the shop, but today her daughter, Mii-chan, showed us around her house!

Let's go to our favorite place right away!

A slightly larger picture book stand that can be part of your life!

There was a picture book stand in the best space in the middle of the room.

This space is Mii-chan's place, a special seat where her favorite picture books and toys are stored!

He introduced me with a look of pride.

He immediately took out a picture book and started reading it with his mom and dad.

[A slightly larger picture book stand] allows children to see the covers of the books, so they will naturally develop the habit of picking up picture books and reading them.

Mi-chan always seems to take out the picture book she wants to read and hand it to her mother. It's hard to believe she's only one year old!!

It seems like the book stand is helping him stand up. It's great to see that it's already become a part of his daily life.

More useful as a desk than a chair! Transformable chair

M-san had decided to buy a transforming chair as a present for his 1st birthday. We received the order 2 months before his birthday and he was looking forward to giving it to him.

This transformable chair is currently being used as both a desk and a playpen.

It's light enough that even a child can move it by themselves, so Mii-chan uses it with different sides facing up, thinking about how to use it in her own way.

Children's minds are flexible, aren't they? When I watch them, I'm always amazed at how they use things in ways that adults would never think of.

A normal chair for children only functions as a chair, but a transforming chair, as the name suggests, can change . It has the appeal of naturally blending into play depending on the child's mood.

I'm sure it will be useful as a chair or step stool in a little while.

Perfect height for reading picture books!

Her favorite item is a capsule toy.

Of the many toys in Mr. M's home, the one he most loves is the gachapon toy.

A capsule toy that has been used for a year

This was the first present that Mi-chan received when she was born. It's a gachapon. It's a sound-making toy made from five different kinds of wood. The gentle sound of the overlapping pieces of wood and the natural colors of green, yellow, red, and white are beautiful.

Since it has a loop, it can be attached to a stroller or baby carrier and taken outside. When you go for a walk, your child will always have a gachapon toy in their hand.

I still use it even though my son is over one year old, and I maintain it regularly. The teeth marks carved into the wood are a nice keepsake.

Discover new books at the picture book corner

For children, toys and picture books are like two wheels of a cart. Both are essential for their growth. On the second floor of the Nakayoshi Library Kobe store, there is a picture book corner where you can read freely. We have interesting picture books and seasonal picture books that are not often found in bookstores.

Ms. M also stops by the picture book corner to read books on her way back from her walk.

Mr. M's family

When I go to the library, I have to be quiet, so I'm grateful to be able to look at picture books without worrying about the people around me.

Children tend to read books over and over again, rather than deciding on a book in one go, so it's nice to be able to take my time looking through each book. There aren't too many picture books, and they're carefully selected, so it's easy to choose!

Picture books I came across at the Kobe store

The picture books that M-san said were "great!" also receive positive feedback from other customers. M-san always points out the "good points" that the staff alone cannot notice.

The couple’s thoughts on raising children

I always think that Mr. and Mrs. M are a wonderful couple. I asked them about the things they value when raising children.

Mr. M's family

I try to give them as much freedom as possible without restricting them. I also want them to make lots of mistakes and get into lots of mischief.

Therefore, after my daughter started moving around, we moved the expensive sofa to create more space in the house... (crying) We replaced it with a dining table and furniture from the Nakayoshi Library so that she wouldn't get hurt if she bumped into something.

Children grow by thinking for themselves, taking action, and experiencing things. What may seem like no big deal to an adult can become an invaluable experience for a child.

As I listened to their story, I got the sense that they value children's free thinking and experiences.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the story, there is something I always think about when I see M-san and I want to imitate her. That is, she enjoys playing with toys more than a child does!! lol

Children are most interested in the things that their parents enjoy. Therefore, when watching Mi-chan, it is striking that she has no interest in cell phones, but always has her eyes on picture books and wooden toys.

What's different about the triangular dining table?

This dining table is not only safe with rounded corners, but also has a distinctive triangular shape. Because it has three legs, there is a lot of space underneath! It seems that Mi-chan is always crawling around under the table. Lol

The triangular shape allows family members to sit facing each other no matter where they sit. Mr. M said, "The distance between my family has become closer." It's a table that mysteriously brings people closer together.

A special day and special moment for your first birthday. The place to make memories is...

A child's first birthday is a really special day for families. When I'm in the store, I always feel that each and every customer who chooses Nakayoshi Library products places their order with that same special feeling in mind.

They chose Nakayoshi Library Kobe store as the location for the commemorative photo shoot on this special day.

Mr. M's family

I wanted to take her one-year-old photo in a familiar place. I wanted to capture her natural appearance playing and having fun in a familiar place, so I took the photos at a store.

I am so happy that this has become a familiar place for her family and Mi-chan. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic and the ability to buy products online, I wondered what the purpose of a store's existence is.

However, I was reminded that the role of a store is not just to sell products, but to be a place that fosters these invisible connections with customers.

Mr. M's family

Although it is not easy to go out far away, going to a store helps me to change my mood. I am very grateful to have a place nearby where I can go and feel safe in a different environment from home.

Especially in times like these, I truly want to continue to put all my effort into creating a store and products that are needed by all of our customers.