Intergenerational care: Children's visits are 'like medicine' for care home residents

Seven children aged from one to four-years-old have become regular visitors to a care home in Cambridge with their visits being the residents’ ‘highlight of the week’, due to a partnership between two childminders and the home.

Since January this year, children from Little Owls, run by Nat Jackson and Amanda Strong, have been visiting Home Meadow care home in Toft, every Monday.

The children spend the entire day with the residents and invite them to take part in their activities such as dance, arts and crafts and singing. The group has a dedicated room to use for their lunch and for nap time and residents are free to come and go as they please, visiting the children and joining in with their day.

Home Meadow’s activities coordinator, Joe Ballard, said: “Having the children at the home is like a medicine to the residents. Many of the people here live with dementia and spending time with the young ones brings them joy and happiness that is so lovely to see. Some of them have formed very tight bonds with the children and seeing them on a Monday is the highlight of their week.

“We’re always looking for new ways to connect with our residents and for new activities that will make a real difference to their lives here. Studies have shown that intergenerational care can have significant positive effects on those living with dementia and this has certainly been the case with Little Owls.”

Little Owls which has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted approached the home with their idea last year and after some pilot sessions in December when the children visited the home to make Christmas crafts, it was soon agreed to make the visits regular. Nat Jackson and Amanda Strong posted on Facebook to ask for toys and games to store at the home and were inundated with donations.

Nat Jackson of Little Owls said “We’re really thrilled with how positive this project has been for the children and for the residents.

“We were teaching the children about people in the community and wanted them to learn more about our elderly generation. We wanted the children to interact with them, as we understood the benefits for both generations. We approached Joe to see if he would let us come and visit Home Meadow. It’s now a regular part of our week and the children love it.”

She added: “The parents of the children tell us that they go home speaking about the home and the residents they have spent time with, so we know how much they enjoy it. I would recommend this kind of initiative to anyone in childcare as the benefits to both generations are so clear.”

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