How Child Care Classes Help Seniors To Understand Youngsters

That’s a good thing – children have a lot to learn, and they learn best when they’re learning from people who know a thing or two about the world.
Interestingly, grandparent daycare appears to have some real advantages over formal daycare. Compared to preschool teachers, grandparents report warmer relationships and communicate better with the children they care for – they also say lower levels of conflict.

So children benefit a lot when grandparents play a significant caring role in their lives. This also seems to alleviate parental stress.
Children who regularly mix with older people see improvements in their language development, reading, and social skills.

Adults are one of the best groups to spend time with young children, not only because they can pass on decades of wisdom, but also because they are at a point in life where they have the availability and patience to do so and can provide the kind of stimulation that young children need to thrive.

Participation in intergenerational programs and meaningful cross-age relationships may decrease social isolation and increase older adults’ sense of belonging, self-esteem, and well-being while also improving the social and emotional skills of children and youth participants.

Young children who participated in intergenerational care had more advanced motor and cognitive skills, higher developmental scores, and more advanced social and emotional competencies than their non-intergenerational peers, to name a few, and older adult participants reported lower levels of loneliness, reduced agitation and improved health.
Challenges and lessons for seniors

The experience of intergenerational care is not always pleasant. Seniors are more likely to face discrimination more often than any other age group. In both daily life (including interactions with their peers) and the media, they are mocked for having “senior moments,” like lapses in memory or physical deterioration.

Young people can also be faced with ageism. Seniors may see them as haughty and disrespectful. This most often occurs when both groups fail to effectively communicate. Young people can perceive the reaction for the senior as “lecturing,” while seniors perceive it as offering valuable advice. Younger people often assume that older individuals have “had their turn” and should make way for the younger generations.

Seniors have come to understand that youngsters in their formative years are inquisitive and adventurous. Despite the patience the seniors are known for, there is the tendency that youngsters can wear them out if they become problematic.