The sound of young and old voices mingling in chatter and song fills a retirement village, as elderly residents connect with their young "grand-buddies".
The preschool children visit the home on the NSW Mid North Coast each week, and joy and enthusiasm is reflected in the faces of both the young and old.
"I love coming here and playing with them … especially their play dough and their little drawings they do, and some send back little notes, it's lovely," resident Betty Croker said.
The visit is part of a Connecting Generations: Adopt a Grand-buddy program, initiated several years ago by the KIDS Foundation and facilitated through Anglican Care facilities, with the aim of increasing social connections and linking generations.
It's a real-life example of the concept shown in the heartwarming ABC TV series, Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds.
After a challenging few years, and extended periods of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is only just starting back up face-to-face, and is proving more valuable than ever.
Heather Murphy, residential care manager at the Anglican Care Storm Retirement Village at Taree, said for many of the residents, the regular visit by local Taree and District Community preschoolers was the highlight of their week.
"They love the kids … they get a lot out of it, just the companionship, I think it makes our residents feel younger," she said.
"They are much more agile, and they are happier and it's very good for their mental health.
"It's brought out a lot of our residents who were quiet and not wanting to come out of their shells.
"They are all wanting to come down now and join the group, it's been a big success."
Grand-buddies return after COVID-19
The program was initially piloted at preschools in regional NSW and has also been delivered throughout Victoria.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the face-to-face visits were put on hold.
The Storm Retirement Village was the first Anglican Care facility in NSW to recently welcome its young grand-buddies back after an extended break.
"We have had three years of isolating where the residents haven't had a lot of interaction with friends or family. It's been a trying time for us, so for the residents, this has been really good," Ms Murphy said.
The NSW Mental Health Commissioner Catherine Lourey said loneliness was common in aged-care homes and spiked during the pandemic.
She said the grand-buddy scheme was one way to address the issue.
"Programs like this are about connection and that's absolutely key, bringing generations together is absolutely essential," she said.
"You share stories … it sparks that extra interest and special way of communicating and also young kids can learn from older people and that adds value and meaning."
Seeing 'nannies and poppies'
Taree and District Community Preschool director Kylie Jones said the children were excited to visit their older friends.
"Our older generations are very experienced and have great stories to tell and, same as our younger generation, they like to share stories and catch up and work together," she said.
Preschool educator Lyn Heher said it was a joy to be involved.
"It's teaching the children empathy and compassion," she said.
"They really enjoy the process of drawing the pictures at preschool and we talk about our elderly friends.
"The children enjoy bringing joy to the elderly people here, you can see it in their faces."
Hugs and high-fives are shared at the end of each meeting, as connections are formed.
"I like seeing the nannies and poppies," Jayla Towers, 4, said.
Lara Saville, 5, said she enjoyed dressing "like a princess with a necklace and some bracelets" for the special occasion.
KIDS Foundation CEO Susie O'Neill said the program had proved so successful, they had now modified it to ensure connections could remain even if face-to-face visits ever needed to be suspended.
"The elderly people relied on it so much for their mental health, and the thrill of seeing the children and how happy it made them," Dr O'Neill said.
"So, we've designed a program that has some contact visits but, in the case that there are circumstances where they can't visit their grand-buddies, they can actually see them … online."
