My grandmother moved into an old people's home and I visited her there. She was sitting in the living room with other residents, half of them asleep. The room was clean and the care assistants were kind and cheerful. A general knowledge quiz show was on the television and the only other sounds were snoring (打呼噜). Grandma talked a lot about how much she missed her grandson but I hated going to visit her there and, to be honest, I couldn't wait to get away myself.
So I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people's homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary—combining an old people's home with a nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities such as painting and gardening. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on. Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young. There are many reasons for this, but the result is the same: increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people having no contact with children, and more old people who feel lonely and useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. It's a major problem in many societies.
That's why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world. There are examples of successful initiatives. Young people teaching IT skills to older people is one obvious example. Old people working as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra attention.
The advantages are enormous. The children are happy because they get more individual attention. They also see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and more interested in life. There will be less conflict in a community if older people can understand the youth, and vice versa.
Now we need to rediscover what "community" really means. Then perhaps getting old won't be such a depressing prospect after all.