There was a show on one of the Swedish tv channels where they followed an experiment with mixing an elderly (75+) care home with a kindergarten. I think what they did was one or a couple of days a week the kids (all under 6-7 if I recall) would spend time in the care home with the elderly, doing different activities together (singing, dancing, painting, whatever you do in kindergarten basically) and then measuring the effects on cognitive and physical abilities of the elderly.
It was an interesting show, and they claim the health benefits to the elderly were significant. The interviews with the old people were very poignant, with one saying she was considering suicide before the experiment, because she felt so lonely. The kids also seemed to appreciate it a lot, being at that age where they just like having fun and learning new things.
Sadly the epilogue of the show sad Covid-19 stopped any further expansion of the experiment, but hopefully it will continue once it's safe again. It seems to me like a great idea, combining child care with elderly care.
It was an interesting show, and they claim the health benefits to the elderly were significant. The interviews with the old people were very poignant, with one saying she was considering suicide before the experiment, because she felt so lonely. The kids also seemed to appreciate it a lot, being at that age where they just like having fun and learning new things.
Sadly the epilogue of the show sad Covid-19 stopped any further expansion of the experiment, but hopefully it will continue once it's safe again. It seems to me like a great idea, combining child care with elderly care.