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American mom who lives in Japan details the strict rules of packing her son's lunch for school
An American mom has shared the strict rules she has to follow when making her young son's bento box lunches for his Japanese school.
Moriah relocated to Okinawa, Japan, in January 2024 with her husband and two children after her spouse was moved for his military role.
She now regularly documents her life abroad and recently took viewers through her son's lunch for school during a bento day.
'Bento means lunchbox slash meal box,' the mom explained in a clip posted to TikTok, which has so far been viewed more than 4.5 million times.
She explained that in Japanese culture bento boxes are a staple and some of her mom friends have to make them every single day for multiple children - but was relieved she only has to make them twice a month as her son is provided lunch at school most of the time.
Moriah moved to Okinawa in Japan in January 2024 with her husband and two children, after her husband was moved for his military role
Moriah now documents her life abroad, taking viewers through her son's lunch for school during a bento day
She explained that in Japanese culture bento boxes are a staple and some of her mom friends have to make them every single day for multiple children
'There's not specific reason when and why they do the two times a month,' she continued. 'The reason behind a bento box is that is shows the mother's love to the children or to her husband by how nicely she puts it together.'
Moriah admitted that this can definitely be seen as toxic but she luckily doesn't experience that at her son's school.
'I don't know if that's because he is young but my friend here said that is typical for the Japanese culture for children to judge each other's bentos, or for the teacher to look and see it and judge off that,' she explained.
'So again, it can be kind of stressful to moms because they are waking up super early to make these intricate bento boxes just for the child to show it off for a couple of minutes before eating it,' the mom pointed out.
'Again, I'm not going to speak on it too much, because it's not my culture and I'm trying to understand as much as possible. It's two times a month, I do it because I like to do it,' she said simply.
Moriah said her son's school also heavily promotes healthy eating, listing off items they're not allowed to pack.
'[We can't pack] chips, cookies, crackers, gummies, any kind of candy - pretty much anything that would be considered junk food,' she explained.
To ensure parents are adhering to the rules, teachers check the student's lunchboxes and if there's something in there that is not supposed to be they might take it away or allow the child to have it and then say something to the parent.
Moriah said her son's school also heavily promote healthy eating, listing off items they're not allowed to pack
Commenters were in awe over the adorable bento boxes and Moriah's impressive skills
'[This] happened to me,' she admitted. 'I put this tiny cookie in my son's bento yesterday since it was the last bento day before summer break and when I got there I told them about it, I wanted to double check and they had me remove it.'
While the American acknowledged it 'sounds extreme,' she said her son has never eaten as well as he has in Japan.
'He gets plenty of sweet treats at home and we make sure to talk to him about healthy eating because we don't want him to think because he can't have it at school that it's bad,' she added.
Moriah concluded her video by saying her 'number one goal' when making the bento boxes is to make a box she knows her son is going to eat and making it cute.
'I know this is not for everyone and that's fine,' she said. 'My son really enjoys it and I am so grateful to get the opportunity to live here and I'm trying to immerse myself in the culture as much as possible.'
Commenters were in awe over the adorable bento boxes and Moriah's impressive skills.
'I lowkey want to start making bento box lunches just for fun,' one user commented.
'Used to teach elementary school in Japan. Bento days were always so fun for me to see what the kids packed but I always worried about how stressful it must be for the moms,' added another.
'Aww! I love how they push for healthy eating. That's amazing,' one user wrote.
'I agree!' the mom wrote back enthusiastically. 'So far it doesn't seem too strict and he is beginning to eat a wide variety of foods.'