Fernhill House embraces interaction between children and older people
Studies highlighting the benefits for both age
groups of children and elderly people spending time together are being embraced
by Fernhill House, which is inviting local youngsters to join them and meet a
pair of Shetland ponies dressed in Santa outfits!
The visit, on December 1, will be the latest in
a series of activities to which the wider public is invited as part of the
home’s policy to ensure as vibrant a life as possible for everyone in the home.
Previous events which have seen mutually
beneficial interaction between those with many decades under their belt and
their younger counterparts have included a family fun day in the summer, a visit
from village school children to make pizzas in the home’s outdoor oven and an animal
encounters day involving snakes, chinchillas and giant rabbits.
Fernhill
House manager Peta Mandleberg is a great fan of projects which see children and
older people share space and activities, and cites examples of successful
policies of combining crèches and nursing homes in the US and Singapore.
Indeed, Fernhill House is
about to purchase a revolutionary interactive sensory table which uses light
and images to help people living with dementia.
This week an experiment
carried out in Essex showed primary school children and octogenarians playing happily
together with the new technology.
Peta explained: “Studies
have shown that shared experiences between the ages can help educate older people
about technology, increase their energy levels and improve their health and
happiness.
“For children, benefits
include improving reading ability, better behaviour, less substance use and truancy
in later life. It also boosts self-esteem and
young children are found to be far less discriminatory when it comes to forming
friendships.”
* Children in Essex join people with dementia to play with the innovative sensory light table.