The children, they just accept you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sheila Johnston<\/p>\n
Coade started a similar playgroup three years ago to coax residents out of their rooms after the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Sheila Johnston, 94, is not generally one to sign up for activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a joiner,\u201d she says. \u201cI never have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The playgroup was a rare exception to her \u201cno-joining\u201d rule.<\/p>\n
Cooper with Sheila Johnston, who made an exception to her personal \u2018no-joining\u2019 rule for the children\u2019s playgroup run in her aged care home. Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the children, they just accept you,\u201d she says. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to try with them, you can just be. They don\u2019t recognise any infirmity or disability \u2013 you\u2019re just a person, which is lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Each was able to fill a void in the other\u2019s life: Clara rarely sees her grandparents in north Queensland, while Zettler\u2019s grandchildren live overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the kids growing up \u2013 it\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d says Zettler, a firm favourite among the children. \u201cThey came when they were two years old and now they\u2019re going to school and we have to say \u2018bye-bye\u2019 to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finn, Clara, Oscar and Alvee join Martha Zettler during the playgroup at Compton Gardens Retirement Community. Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
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\u2019s side. Now Alvee and younger brother, Finn, are confident speaking to people of all ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a lot of camping,\u201d Mel says. \u201cAnd they\u2019ll often find the tents or the caravans with the elderly, pull up a chair for afternoon tea, because they\u2019re so comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zettler\u2019s ceramic art takes pride of place at the Bakers\u2019 house, and Mel sends her photos from their family holidays. The 86-year-old was a guest of honour at Clara\u2019s third birthday party.<\/p>\n
Very few people \u2026 aren\u2019t moved by having a child run up to them and pull on their shirt and say \u2018come with me\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Susan Kurrle<\/p>\n
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\u2019s strength, quality of life and risk of depression. Every resident showed improvement in all fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could see that in their faces, in their movements,\u201d says Kurrle.<\/p>\n
She received more than 800 emails after the show aired, many from people wanting to get involved with similar programs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
About one in five aged care homes has an intergenerational play program, a 2023 survey<\/a> 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.<\/p>\nThere is still untapped potential to transform the quality of life for people in aged care, says Kurrle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are very few people who aren\u2019t moved by having a child run up to them and pull on their shirt and say, \u2018come with me\u2019,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt basically comes down to joy and happiness \u2026 it\u2019s not rocket science.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alyssa appears uncertain on her first visit to the retirement village. She eyes staff suspiciously as her caregiver…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":483609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-483608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115817152839247019","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}