Two Generations, One Morning at Sonas Spearwood

Reading time: 3 minutes

Last week, the children at Sonas Spearwood pulled on their jumpers, tucked art cards under their arms, and walked next door to visit their elder friends at our neighbouring aged-care residence. What followed was the kind of morning we will remember for a long time.

There were songs, there were stories, and there was a proper morning tea with everyone gathered around low tables. Some of the residents had grandchildren of their own; some had not held a small hand in years. All of them lit up when the children arrived.

Why Intergenerational Visits Matter

Programs that bring young children and older adults together have been studied for more than three decades. The evidence is consistent: everyone benefits.

For young children, spending time with older adults builds empathy, patience and language skills. It also gently teaches something schools rarely can — that ageing is a normal, valuable part of life. A recent Griffith University review of intergenerational programs in Australia found that regular contact between preschoolers and older adults reduced ageist attitudes and improved social confidence in both groups.

For the older adults, the benefits are even more striking. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has linked meaningful social contact with reduced rates of depression, loneliness and cognitive decline in residential aged care. A visit from a preschooler is not just cute — it is protective.

What the Children Did

The morning was not staged. The children arrived with things they had made — cards, drawings, a small song they had been practising — and then let the residents lead. Some children sat close and listened to stories about growing up in Fremantle in the 1940s. Others helped pour tea. One child spent the whole hour showing a resident how her new shoes lit up when she stamped her foot. Neither of them wanted to leave.

At Sonas we build our program around the Early Years Learning Framework, and this kind of experience sits right at the heart of Outcome 2: children are connected with and contribute to their world. You cannot teach that from a book. It has to be lived.

Community Is Not a Nice-to-Have

Sonas Spearwood is a boutique, family-owned centre in a real Perth neighbourhood — not a national chain running through a script. That means we get to say yes to mornings like this one. Our educators know the residents' names. The residents know ours. When one of them is unwell, we send a card. When a child moves on to school, we walk over one last time to say goodbye.

That is what community looks like when childcare is not treated as a transaction.

Come and See

If you have been thinking about a place for your little one and you would like the same warmth, care and community your child deserves, we would love to show you around.

• Call Sonas Spearwood on (08) 6184 6075
• Visit the Sonas Spearwood centre page
• Book a tour with our team

A huge thank you to the residents who welcomed us so warmly, and to the Spearwood educators — led by Kayla Dowsett — who made this visit possible.