While it’s unclear what kind of impact such social interaction has on children, research suggests it may come with a variety of benefits for them as well. For example, kids who have early contact with older people are less likely to view them as incompetent—and simply exposing children to positive depictions of elders makes them less likely to exhibit ageism. These intergenerational interactions also enhance children’s social and personal development. And, as many of the parents whose children attend the ILC will attest, the kids are prone to feel more comfortable around those with disabilities and impairments of all kinds than their peers who lack such experiences.

Evan Briggs

Integrating preschools and nursing homes isn’t an established trend, and there appears to be no real tally of how many are in existence. But judging by the viral nature of videos and articles depicting these programs on social media, it’s a movement many are eager to embrace. In 1976, a Japanese man named Shimada Masaharu combined the nursery school and home for the aged in Tokyo’s Edogawa municipality under one roof. By 1998, Kotoen was one of 16 such joint facilities, according to the Tokyo Ministry for Health, Labour, and Welfare. The idea trickled over to North America around the same time, and today there are intergenerational centers for elders and young children across Japan, Canada, and the United States.

Humans are, and have always been, an intergenerational species. Still, to keep up with the demands of the culture and society of today, the responsibilities of child and elder care have, out of necessity, been outsourced to professionals. “We live in a culture, time, and place where creative people have to use creative means to accomplish something that was always the most ordinary, customary thing in the human experience: older people and younger people sharing their lives,” says Bill Thomas, a doctor and international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare.

At the Mount, there are plenty of opportunities for intergenerational engagement between residents and the children. Six times a week, teachers take their groups to the residential floors to visit the elders for anywhere from 20 minutes for the infants to 60 minutes for the older children. Residents are welcome to observe in the classrooms, and structured activities for the children and residents to participate in together are scheduled daily. Because they share the same building, there are opportunities for spontaneous engagement, too—when inclement weather strikes, and the children must make do with the halls, lobby, and vacant rooms as their playground, for example. Or when an area musician comes around to play tunes for the children to sing and dance to along with the elders.

Of the families that send their children to the Mount, roughly 10 percent are employees and a large majority are from the West Seattle area. Thanks to support from the Mount and its parent organization, Providence Health & Services, the center is able to offer tuition assistance and a 20 percent discount to staff members. Parents are interested in the program largely due to its reputation. The teachers, who are required to have at least 15 college-credit hours in early childhood education and complete an annual senior-care training, are cited as the biggest draw.