Visiting tots bring cheer all year round

Mums take their babies and toddlers to Greenwood Park to interact with the residents. (l-r) Rebekah Adams, Anna Tomkins and 15mth old Ryder Anderson. Photo/Andrew Warner

Sitting on the floor in one of the lounges at Greenwood Park Retirement Village dressed in a tutu, Naiya Smiler played to the crowd and lived up to her last name.

The six-month-old's beaming grin brings coos of delight from the "oldies" who are also in the room.

Naiya's mum Cheyjuana Doyle is one of around a dozen mothers who take their toddlers to the retirement village each Thursday, purely to spend time with any residents who want to join them.

"It's an absolutely amazing and beautiful experience to see two generations at either end of the spectrum interacting with each other," she says.

The idea was the brainchild of Rebekah Adams, mum of 15-month-old Ryder Anderson, who shared her thoughts with her Facebook page, then created the mums and bubs Greenwood page.

Rebekah says she had been thinking about taking her son to a retirement village to interact with residents for a while.

"I just felt the need to take him - he's 15 months old and I thought if I don't do it now, I probably won't."

Living nearby, she said she thought Greenwood Park was a good place to go as it's central and easy to get to.

It was Eleanor Blackburn's first time at the get-together. "It's great. It's lovely for oldies to see the young ones - it's really nice."

She sits next to resident Anna Tomkins, who hasn't missed a visit. "I love children, I always have since I was quite young - our neighbours used to let me take their babies out," she says.

"I just want to thank the mothers - it's marvellous of them to bring their children and give up their time. There are so many elderly people in the village, it's nice to see young people.

"Isn't this a cool idea?" Manager Todd Jenkins pops his head around the door. "It's a great way to combat loneliness. We have school groups that come in sometimes and that's great, but they are one-offs. This is regular."

Todd hopes to be able to expand the visits next year so mums can take their children to residents who might not be able to get to the administration building where the lounge is.

He says the visits fit perfectly with a philosophy he is bringing to the retirement village called the Eden Alternative. He explains that the concept, developed in the United States, aims to combat loneliness in old age.

"As you get older it's easy to slip into loneliness, helplessness and boredom and it's all about what we can do to combat that.

"It's tied to mobility and hearing issues and people can get more and more isolated. We are good here at looking after people's physical well-being, but now we will be also focused on mental well-being."

The mums and bubs group meets at the retirement village each Thursday from 10am- 11am.