Seniors and children at My First Skool at Blk 180B Boon Lay Drive playing a game of fishing during one of the sessions of the Intergenerational Programme.

In an article about the rise in intergenerational programmes in Singapore, TODAY featured NTUC First Campus (NFC) and NTUC Health’s Intergenerational (IG) Programme, which was piloted a decade ago.

The programme has since expanded to become more regular and structured, and is available in all 160 My First Skool centres alongside most of the NTUC Health facilities, and takes place at least once a month.

“With regular interactions, we have observed that both seniors as well as preschoolers form long-term bonds,” said Chan Su Yee, chief executive officer of NTUC First Campus and NTUC Health.

“Over the years, we have witnessed improvements in seniors through the programme. For instance, seniors with conditions such as dementia and aphasia showed marked improvements in social interaction and engagement during the sessions.”

She added that the seniors are motivated to spend time with the children — so much so that one of them had asked for a hearing aid so that he could attend a reading session for a child.

“Inter-generational efforts are all about bringing the community closer, which goes beyond activities at eldercare centres and preschools.”

Several seniors said that the programmes give them a sense of purpose and make them “feel young again”. The children also benefit from the interaction, as they develop their emotional intelligence and learn how to interact with the older adults.

Chen Sher Li, 36, an administrative executive and mother of two-year-old Loi Min Ern from My First Skool at Blk 180B Boon Lay Drive said as Min Ern does not live with her grandparents, the intergenerational activities are an opportunity for her to interact with seniors.

“Intergenerational activities help her understand different life stages, in addition to interacting with peers other than her age. Min Ern will sometimes imitate the actions of an older person and ask why do they walk very slowly. She will also pretend to be an older person, saying things like, ‘Help me, please’,” she said of Min Ern’s adoration for the seniors.

Media coverage

TODAY coverage of My First Skool (TODAY online – 21 July 2024)

TODAY coverage of My First Skool (TODAY online video – 21 July 2024)