Linking young and old
Adapted extracts from Time (USA), monitored for the Institute by Roger Knights.
- A day-care centre for young and old alike has been set up by Stride Rite Corporation of Cambridge, Massachussetts, who are the first private company to establish this type of facility. The $700,000 pilot programme consists of adjoining centres that allow easy mingling and interaction between 55 children, from 18 months to five years old, and 24 elders over 60. Separated only by windows and hallways, the old and the young have plenty of opportunities to visit one another. Shared activities such as cooking and birthday parties are planned by the staff, but informal get-togethers happen spontaneously.
'Separated only by windows and hallways, the old and the young have plenty of opportunities to visit one another'
- Linking Lifetimes is a programme which brings retirees together with at-risk teenagers. It is being launched in nine US cities.
- In Omaha and seven other cities, elderly volunteers visit regularly with chronically ill children in a programme called Family Friends.
- At the Point Park College Children's School in Pittsburgh, some pre-schoolers are being taught about ageing by staff members, who are all over 55. The teachers use activities like planting seeds to illustrate the stages of the life cycle.
'Toddlers from a local day-care centre spend time with Alzheimer's patients after being read such books as 'Grandpa Doesn't Know It's Me' '
- In one Pennsylvania programme, toddlers from a local day-care centre spend time with Alzheimer's patients after being read such books as 'Grandpa Doesn't Know It's Me'.
- Youngsters also learn that death is a natural component of life. Generations Together is developing a curriculum dealing with separation and loss. It will help children cope not only with an elderly companion's demise but also with other issues, like their parents' divorce or the loss of a favourite pet.
Previous / Next / Table of Contents