Could seniors and toddlers go to daycare together? An emerging body of research suggests that doing so is good for both the young and old.
There was one comment that resonated from the age-friendly survey our committee completed. The respondent said “I like my independence and don’t enjoy being herded together for a group activity with my peers.”
Like daycare for infants and toddlers too young for school, adult daycare is for seniors who may need some assistance during the day and are seeking stimulation and companionship.
We live in a society where care of young and old is increasingly segregated, with very limited opportunity for the two age groups to interact.
If we just thought a little more socially, these book end generations could become great resources for each other by putting put them in the same place.
These days traditional families are separated by distance, time and lack of understanding between generations, but programs that bring children and older adults together could change the whole of society’s outlook.
Children are the world’s future but that doesn’t mean we need to consign older generations to the past.
The concept of non-familial intergenerational interactions is a simple idea that old and young can bring new energy, knowledge and enthusiasm to each other’s lives.
What the groups do when they meet can be as relaxed as playing a game or reading a book together. The activities could be truly unlimited.
There’s an increased need for quality and cost-effective care arrangements for both older people and young children. Bringing together the young and old in the same care centers could be a good use of resources.
Both adult care and childcare organizations can decrease total running costs by sharing resources such as skilled labour, learning materials and buildings.
Savings like this could have huge benefits.
Intergenerational care programs could offer an effective alternative model of care.
In the face of increasing economic, demographic and social pressures, an extensive rollout of such programs has the potential to give families access to more, higher quality childcare, and help older people feel like valued members of society.
Investing in staff time and ensuring the time young and old spend together is planned and appropriate for all ages will be the key to make this work.
The two groups cannot just be left in a room together. The idea here is to build relationships, and help each person benefit from the enthusiasm, knowledge and attitudes of each other.
Older people have the time and skills that are often underutilized. For this kind of care to work, putting a shared care plan in place seems to make sense.
More research, funding and government support is needed for these intergenerational arrangements to become a reality.
We live in a culture, time and place where creative people have to use creative means to accomplish something that was always the customary thing in the human experience: older people and younger people sharing their lives.
Submitted by the Age-Friendly Committee of the Olds Institute.
