The residents of Park Springs have been taking part in joint fortnightly book bug sessions at the nursery where they listen to stories along with the children, share olden day songs and rhymes. The nursery has been working closely with Park Springs Care Home looking at the benefits of intergenerational working on their residents and our nursery children. There is an array of evidence that suggest benefits of intergenerational working for young children, older adults and communities include:
Benefits for Older adults
- Improved mental health: They perform better on memory tests and those with dementia experience more positive effects than in non intergenerational activities.
- Improves emotional health: Feelings of isolation and depression decrease and self-worth and happiness increases.
Benefits on Children
- They learn about real life experiences, and impacts on their social skills by interacting with older generations.
- It allows them to hear stories about the past in order to connect to the world outside of mobile phones, tablets and portable game screens
Benefits on the Community
- Enhances awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage and traditions
- Increase collaboration between local groups
- Greater community support for schools and nursery’s
