Child‑Protective Nursery Disaster Prevention Day

Today, and January 31st annually, is Child‑Protective Nursery Disaster Prevention Day こどもを守る保育防災の日. The day was established to raise nationwide awareness of disaster preparedness in childcare settings and to strengthen the culture of protecting children’s lives. The date was chosen as a pun on the date: 1 can be read as ko (child), 3 as mi (to see or watch), and 1 again as ru, forming komiru—“to look after” or “to watch over.”

Only two of children went to daycare and only for a couple of weeks, so we had no experience of disaster preparedness in daycare. But when they were in preschool, there were drills at least once a year to prepare for natural disasters, such as earthquakes. The fire brigade also visited once a year. The highlight for the kids was the fire engine! But the firefighters also talked to them about fire safety and they did fire drills too. 

If you had children who went to / go to daycare / nursery in Japan, does the nursery do anything special around this time of year?