Care home launches special 'adopt a granny' scheme for families with young kids
A care home has launched an adopt a grandparent scheme in a bid to tackle loneliness among the elderly.
Families with young children are encouraged to visit for chats with residents and to have lunch or play games. The idea came up after Edna Colton, 93, told staff she always wanted a granddaughter as she only has grandsons.
Manager Stacie Weaver, 38, said the initiative had proved a huge success so far. She added: “We’ve been really overwhelmed by the lovely responses and seeing the smiles on our residents’ faces has been really heartwarming.”
One of the first families to visit Mountview, in Rothley, Leics, was Nayha Gounder, 37, husband Nikesh, 36, and their two-year-old son, Oren.
Nayha, of Leicester, said: “We had a lovely afternoon. The smiles on their faces and the happiness it brings says it all.”
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Visits from young families brightens the residents' days (Mountview Care Home / SWNS)Age UK has revealed more than a million pensioners can go more than a month without speaking to anyone. And the NHS said hundreds of thousands of elderly people are “lonely and cut off from society”.
Ms Weaver added: “Schemes like this are so important to help older people especially in care homes as there’ll always be residents that are sat without any visitors.
“But it’s also really important for the children as many don’t have grandparents, so it’s great for them to be able to have role models to set an example and teach them to respect the older generation.
“We’ve been really shocked by how this has taken off as we do so much for the community that this scheme is just part of a normal day for us.
“We always think of ourselves as one big family at Mountview so it’s been lovely having such a positive community response so we can make our family bigger.”
The care home aims to put on future day trips in the hope of making more special memories as the relationships grow between the families and the residents.
Gran Ms Colton said: “It’s great the children coming in, it really lifts your spirits, it’s nice to see the little children about you.
“Normally you are surrounded by old people all the time, even the carers are grown ups, so its lovely to have the little ones around.”
Karrie Redmile, 38, a full-time mum-of-one, from Knighton, Leicester, took her 23-month-old son Reuben to the sessions.
She added: “I heard about this initiative through a friend and thought it was a great idea. Reuben has only one living grandparent so it suited us greatly.
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“I thought it would be a good way for him to connect with the elderly and build a bond with them over time and and vice versa as some of the residents don’t have family or grandchildren.
“When we went to lunch Reuben was shy at first but eventually he was interacting with the residents colouring in and playing peek-a-boo.
“It was great to see all their faces light up. We both had a lovely time and will be returning monthly to visit the residents.”
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