In Japan, 70% of parents experience anxiety, especially when it comes to young children. One of the key reasons is a communication barrier; they often do not understand their child's behavior, whether it is a baby who won't stop crying or a child who acts in ways that do not make sense to the parent. We at the Think Like a Child Lab that combines fun and seriousness to study children's needs through the perspectives of actual children wanted to find a way to bring such parents peace of mind. Maybe the key to understand a child was to actually become a child. Driven by this notion, we proposed an interactive exhibition that would allow an adult to experience what it's like to be a child to Itochu, who were just about to open Kids' Park, a new amusement center designed to teach children about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

We designed six entertaining and interactive displays that would virtually put parents in the shoes of their children. One display at the exhibit was Baby Head, which demonstrated how awkward it is to move around as a baby when your head is one fourth your total height—about 45 cm in the case of an adult. Other displays included Baby Talk, a device that converted all speech into indecipherable crying; a giant breakfast spread that simulated how big everyday objects look like to a two-year-old; and Scolded by Giants, a VR experience that allowed parents to experience what it’s like to be scolded by a person over twice their height.

The main target was new parents with small children. Since such parents often do not have the opportunity to spend time away from their children, we organized the exhibition at Kids' Park, an indoor amusement center that provides plenty of fun for the whole family. We also gave each display a visually striking look that would grab attention on news and social media so people would actively want to visit and further spread word about the exhibition themselves. We also made sure to invite influencers with small children for a preview so they would help the exhibition go viral on social media.

The exhibition was held from July 22 to September 19, 2022, in the gallery space of Kids' Park. We installed the six displays in the 100-square-meter space along with boards displaying childrearing advice from six university professors (specializing in developmental psychology, biochronology, and other fields) who also advised on the exhibition.

During the exhibition, gallery traffic was 800% the usual volume. The exhibition was covered by numerous TV stations, newspapers, and online news sites, providing us with earned media worth JPY524 million. Over 90% of surveyed visitors indicated that the exhibition had inspired them to change their approach towards communicating with their children. With requests for the exhibition to tour to other parts of Japan, as well as requests for us to organize childrearing lectures for daycare workers, our activities will soon be expanding nationwide.