Off to Grandmother's House We Go

Toddlers who spend time with seniors are less likely to harbor negative stereotypes.

Bluehairs, old fogeys, spry oldsters—all unflattering ways to describe seniors, who make up our Boomer and Mature demographic segments and are more active and productive than ever today. Negative stereotypes of seniors—including that they are forgetful, confused, and absent-minded—may be less likely to persist as younger groups interact more often and more meaningfully with the older set.

Canadian researchers have found that children as young as two or three years old may harbor negative perceptions of seniors, but cross-generational social interaction may counteract unfavorable stereotypes about aging. In addition to eradicating negative perceptions of older people, reframing notions of the aging process is beneficial to younger folk, as they will be less likely to perceive themselves negatively as they age, the research also found.

“We've been able to show really early on that kids, when they're just starting to talk, have established beliefs about older people," University of Alberta's Sheree Kwong See, a psychology researcher, said in a public statement. "We're seeing what we could call ageism by about age three."

In the study, Kwong See and fellow researcher Elena Nicoladis measured the reactions of young children after being quizzed on vocabulary words by either an older or younger adult. Findings indicated that children who had been exposed to older adults exhibited less language bias than children who had little interaction with seniors.

The study results make a lot of sense, says Douglas Fitzgerald, Ed.D, founder and president of Boomer-Living, an online lifestyle resource for Baby Boomers.

“People learn, through social integration, how to treat other people,” Fitzgerald says. “This is true for seniors as well. If we look back at Piaget and recognize the importance of nurturing before the age of six, we then have a better understanding of the study.”

Sue Johnson, co-author Grandloving: Making Memories with Your Grandchildren agrees that social integration is key to enhancing interpersonal contact.

“We all tend to have more fear of the unknown, so if a grandchild has interaction with an elderly person, he is less likely to be judgmental or fearful of that person and the aging process,” she says.  

Researcher Kwong See warns that ageist messages permeate society in several ways. “[Children are] getting negative images of aging from cartoons, from their story books, from watching how other people interact with seniors," she said publicly. "But, they're also starting to pick up some of the positive images as well if they get lots of good interactions." 

If children don't have grandparents, or if their grandparents are sick or infirm, parents can counteract negative aging stereotypes by reaching out to other seniors, Johnson advises. “Look to older friends in your neighborhood, your church circle or other groups you frequent for surrogate grandparents,” she says. “It’s a win/win!”

“This is similar to kids who have parents who can't physically speak,” Fitzgerald adds. “They still learn to talk. Someone who doesn't have grandparents will still learn how to treat older adults through, and by listening and interacting with others. The social, or systemic, understanding of seniors is maybe more important than parenting interaction.”  

Fitzgerald and Johnson maintain that as Boomers live longer and healthier lives, stereotypes of seniors will become less negative on a macro level.

“We, at Boomer-Living.com, recognize that the boomer senior is a lot different than the stereotypical senior of old,” Fitzgerald explains. “Boomers have a tendency to ‘do’—they are more proactive than reactive and this will have a definite impact on social treatment of adults aging in the 21st Century.”

Johnson agrees that today’s grandparents are increasingly active and youthful. “Four thousand Baby Boomers are becoming new grandparents every day at the average age of 48!  Many still work, they’re active, alert and hip. They’ve hung up their aprons and left the rocking chair for the gym.”

The more positive perceptions of aging and seniors are, the more likely young people will engage with seniors, and in turn, be less likely to internalize negative perceptions of aging themselves.   

As an educator, Fitzgerald says that working with students on an almost daily basis has given him the opportunity to enjoy how respectful and bright many members of the younger generation are towards their older counterparts. “Could it be a massive social change—initiated by Boomers as they move through the aging process—that defines the better understanding of mature adults?  It could also be the fact that more familiarity with intergenerational experiences defuses the suspicions and fears one group has of the other?”