TV Experiment Sees Children Descend On Pensioners’ Homes In Bid To Make Them Feel Younger And Has Viewers’ Hearts Breaking

While spending a day in the company of a group of pre-school children might be a nightmare for some, a gaggle of four-year-olds could be the key to fighting loneliness among care-home residents.

New Channel 4 documentary, Old People’s Home for Four Year Olds, sees pre-schoolers swap their nursery for a nursing home as they join a group of pensioners at St Monica’s care home for six weeks.

And unsurprisingly the elderly residents won’t be allowed to sit idly by, either by the children or the producers – they’ll be sticking to the same timetable as the kids, joining them in their lessons.

While the format certainly has spades of heart-warming and tear-jerking potential, the results of the social experiment could also influence our approach to elderly care.

After all there aren’t many people who haven’t found themselves worrying about an elderly relative in a care home they’re unable to visit often.

It’s reported that around 60 per cent of nursing home residents never receive visitors, and while that figure is disputed, it’s not hard to believe, especially as recent surveys have indicated that almost 75 per cent of older people in the UK feel lonely.

Once the two-part series is over, the scientists running the experiment will have their own set of results. Experts are on hand throughout measuring and analysing the elderly participants’ physical and mental progress. Not that it’s really needed – the results become pretty clear pretty quickly.

The gaggle of energetic kids has the care home residents (even the more curmudgeonly among them) laughing, playing games and learning within a matter of minutes of arriving.

h/t:standard