Alyssa appears uncertain on her first visit to the retirement village.
She eyes staff suspiciously as her caregiver signs some paperwork and ushers her into a white-walled sitting room to meet the elderly residents. She takes in her new surroundings and seems to settle on a course of action; making a beeline for the miniature slide.
Alyssa is 13 months old. Her mother has brought her to the Compton Gardens Retirement Community in Brisbane’s north to attend a playgroup inspired by the ABC television show Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. About a dozen children and their parents spend the morning playing, singing and sharing parenting advice over cups of tea and Iced Vovos during the fortnightly visits that have become a highlight for the facility’s elderly residents.
Children and residents sing during a playgroup at Compton Gardens Retirement Community in Aspley, Brisbane. Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian
On this bright spring morning, the room is littered with dolls, plastic tea sets and miniature monster trucks. Four-year-old Oscar is dancing enthusiastically alongside former kindergarten teacher Leonie Coade, who leads a rendition of Miss Polly Had a Dolly.
“I try to jog [the residents’] memories by saying, ‘what do we want to sing next?’” says Coade, the lifestyle coordinator for TriCare Aspley. “It’s important because they start to remember songs they sung to their children … it actually reconnects them with being a parent.”
Louie and a resident, Regina, join the playgroup at Compton Gardens Retirement Community. Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian
Intergenerational playgroups have blossomed since the heartwarming ABC series first aired in 2019, pairing energetic preschoolers with lonely aged care residents to improve their quality of life. About half of people living in aged care are depressed, experts say, while 40% receive no visitors. After seven weeks, the televised experiment showed the older people were stronger, happier and more active; while the children were more confident and empathetic.
The children, they just accept youSheila Johnston
Coade started a similar playgroup three years ago to coax residents out of their rooms after the coronavirus pandemic.
Sheila Johnston, 94, is not generally one to sign up for activities.
“I’m not a joiner,” she says. “I never have been.”
The former naval officer lived a rich life, travelling the world with her air force pilot husband with whom she had four children. She was once an avid reader but now her eyesight is failing and she mostly spends her days walking or going for drives with her child who lives nearby.
The playgroup was a rare exception to her “no-joining” rule.
Cooper with Sheila Johnston, who made an exception to her personal ‘no-joining’ rule for the children’s playgroup run in her aged care home. Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian
“Because the children, they just accept you,” she says. “You don’t have to try with them, you can just be. They don’t recognise any infirmity or disability – you’re just a person, which is lovely.”
Five-year-old Clara Pritchard has been a regular attender since the playgroup began, and has struck up a special bond with 86-year-old German-Australian Martha Zettler.
Each was able to fill a void in the other’s life: Clara rarely sees her grandparents in north Queensland, while Zettler’s grandchildren live overseas.
“I see the kids growing up – it’s unbelievable,” says Zettler, a firm favourite among the children. “They came when they were two years old and now they’re going to school and we have to say ‘bye-bye’ to them.”
Finn, Clara, Oscar and Alvee join Martha Zettler during the playgroup at Compton Gardens Retirement Community. Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian
Mother Mel Baker says Zettler helped her five-year-old daughter, Alvee, come out of her shell. At the first few sessions, the then-two-year-old would barely leave her mother’s side. Now Alvee and younger brother, Finn, are confident speaking to people of all ages.
“We do a lot of camping,” Mel says. “And they’ll often find the tents or the caravans with the elderly, pull up a chair for afternoon tea, because they’re so comfortable.”
Zettler’s ceramic art takes pride of place at the Bakers’ house, and Mel sends her photos from their family holidays. The 86-year-old was a guest of honour at Clara’s third birthday party.
Very few people … aren’t moved by having a child run up to them and pull on their shirt and say ‘come with me’Susan Kurrle
The mutual benefits of intergenerational play are obvious, says geriatrician Susan Kurrle, who featured on the ABC show. Throughout the series, she and other experts used mobility tests and questionnaires to track the older people’s strength, quality of life and risk of depression. Every resident showed improvement in all fields.
“You could see that in their faces, in their movements,” says Kurrle.
She received more than 800 emails after the show aired, many from people wanting to get involved with similar programs.
The Covid pandemic, along with strict regulations around working with children and police checks, stymied some of the initial enthusiasm; but Kurrle says the intergenerational play movement is regaining momentum.
About one in five aged care homes has an intergenerational play program, a 2023 survey found. Another study from Griffith University showed the ABC program had contributed to a groundswell of interest in the sector, including the establishment of a national peak body, the Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice.
There is still untapped potential to transform the quality of life for people in aged care, says Kurrle.
“There are very few people who aren’t moved by having a child run up to them and pull on their shirt and say, ‘come with me’,” she says.
“It basically comes down to joy and happiness … it’s not rocket science.”