Park benches, library books, school desks, roads, and restrooms. Things we use together don't belong to any one person.
If we use public things roughly, the next person will have a hard time. We need to think not only about ourselves now, but also about the people who will come after.
Things We Share Have a Future
If you treat library books gently, the next reader can enjoy them too. If you keep the park clean, small children and elderly people can use it without worry.
Public things are connected not only to the people here now, but also to the people who will use them tomorrow.
Caring Is a Form of Joining Society
Take your trash with you. Wait your turn. Tell someone if something is broken. Return books on time. Put school supplies back so the next person can use them. Each is a small action, but together they protect places we all use.
Children who treat public things gently are children who can imagine people beyond themselves.
Think of one public thing you used today and put it back in a way the next person can use easily.
At Digital Kodomo BASE, we treat caring for things as one of the powers that connect us to society. Protecting shared spaces is helping someone in the future.