Living in a society where the care of our young and old is kept separate, there’s limited opportunity for the two to interact. Hayley Williams, owner of Just Kids in Gordonvale recognizes the numerous mutual benefits, when children and the elderly interact with each other.
At Just Kids, this intergenerational learning interaction has been facilitated with residents from Pyramid Residential Care Centre visiting the child care centre every fortnight. Just Kids’ Community Connect Project has demonstrated how opportunities for the very old and the very young, to engage with each other can enhance the well being of both ends of the age spectrum.
Hayley, pleased with the success of this project, explains some of the benefits. “At Just Kids we recognise that not everyone has family around. The program aims to expand a sense of community and connections with elder people, particularly for our children who may not have grandparents living nearby. Thinking socially, we believe these “book end generations” could become great resources for each other – all we need to do is put them in the same place.”
