People staying in nursing homes have one thing in common - loneliness and the feeling that they are not useless to anyone. Even if the family regularly visits the elderly, calls and does not forget about grandmother, grandfather or great-grandfather, they feel that they have lost the meaning of life. A way to remedy this situation is the trend of establishing cooperation between nursing homes and … kindergartens.

Contents:

  1. Seniors in kindergarten - to help loneliness
  2. Seniors in kindergarten - controversial initiative
  3. Seniors in kindergarten - intergenerational friendship
  4. Seniors in kindergarten - also in Poland!

When a person gets tired of his professional work and the power of responsibilities in the family home, a desire arises in him to finally rest a bit. In such cases, we used to say: until retirement. At this stage of life, you can enjoy your grandchildren, help children and family.

The problem arises, however, when this family is absent, or when the state of he alth or finances forces an elderly person to stay in a care home. For such a person, living alone is like a sentence.

Seniors in kindergarten - to help loneliness

This is an extraordinary paradox. Older people finally have a lot of peace in seniors' homes. The staff of the center provides them with life, meals, linen change, help with daily activities.

Nevertheless, staying in such a place is not a godsend for most of the residents. Even if they feel relieved at the beginning, because they are provided with care, food and shelter, as well as an infinite amount of free time for reading, watching TV and walking …

After some time, many of them experience an emptiness, a feeling that something is missing, that it is not really a life to the fullest. They begin to miss their responsibilities. Maybe it is a matter of getting used to a certain rigor in which they have lived through many years of professional activity.

And it's not even about boredom. Among the residents of nursing homes, friendships are born, and there is no shortage of common topics for conversation. Rather, it is a desire to be needed and a longing for the family, especially its youngest members, as well as the need to serve others, in this case your own children.

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Seniors in kindergarten - controversial initiative

In the conditions of a nursing home, giving meaning to the existence of a resident seems not to be easy. And yet such a sense can be found. Much depends on those who run a given center. The quality of life of seniors depends primarily on them.

And although the living conditions, the level of medical care, cleanliness, quality of life and food are very important, the residents will not be entirely happy if we do not find their destination, if they cannot be needed by others.

In recent years, a beautiful initiative has appeared in our environment, which spreads every year and becomes even a fashion. May it soon become the norm!

The idea came to us from the United States, where a center was created, consisting of a nursing home for the elderly and a kindergarten on one property. At first glance, the idea is quite controversial.

At first, this idea was denied any sense. Some people claimed that these two worlds were so different that there could be no question of any integration. Other critics believed it offended older people by exposing their childhood through the organization of a community center with toddlers.

Still others complained that children would have to look at old age, infirmity and suffering instead of drawing role models from beauty, fitness and fullness of life. Contrary to all these pessimistic opinions, the idea turned out fantastically.

A new meaning in life

If we are sure that the nursing home provides excellent conditions of stay, let us not forget that in order to really live a person must feel needed by others. Let's look for this goal, we can find it in the most unexpected places, for example in kindergarten.

Seniors in kindergarten - intergenerational friendship

It turned out that both groups developed a deep friendship. Interestingly, the meeting quickly ceased to be just a way of spending time for both the older and the little ones.

Both groups felt something that life is really about. They felt responsible for each other. Deprived of contact with their own families, seniors could finally feel like wise, experienced mentors again. Share wisdom, answer important questions, find patient listeners in kids.

Children, in turn, by providing a little help in the everyday matters of their "sewn-in" grandparents, subconsciously learned the servitude that is so lacking for the modern young generation.

Seniors in kindergarten - also in Poland!

The experiment turned out to be very successful and quickly found followers. Also in Polandattempts were made to integrate similarly. Children from the Kindergarten them. Dwarf Hałabała in Poznań's Dębiec district has been visiting the nearby retirement home for several years and inviting its charges to their place for celebrations and performances.

Public Kindergarten No. 2 in Łęczna as part of the European Social Fund "Integration from kindergarten to seniors" organizes trips and events for preschoolers, their grandparents and seniors from nursing homes. The situation is similar in Olsztyn: the residents of the nursing home in Redykajny cooperate with the Krasnal Private Kindergarten.

Polish experience shows that it is not necessarily about building centers designed in advance to accommodate nursing homes and kindergartens in one place.

It was enough that the preschool institution sought contact with the nearest nursing home. Nothing easier, one phone call, one email. And the good fruits of such an initiative are abundant. At least that's what seniors say, who in the company of kids feel needed again and a bit younger.

Category:

Geriatrics