I think that everyone should take 30 minutes or so every once in a while to take their kids to a local nursing home to visit people there who don't get visitors that often. My girls love visiting with people and the smiles on the faces of the people they meet is worth more than anything. My oldest dd now makes crafts and tells me their for some of the nursing home patients. A little kindness goes a long way. And you never know when it may be you who needs a visitor and a hug from someone.

By Karen55 on Friday, March 7, 2003 - 04:25 am:

I agree, and it's a great idea. When Jen was young, her dance class used to go to the local nursing home every year and put on a little show for the residents. Those people loved it. Also, her class at school went several years with Easter baskets for the residents. I have no doubt some, perhaps many (unfortunately) of those people don't have regular visits from family members and I saw first hand, the joy in their faces, when those kids spent some time with them.

Another thing that's beneficial to the *elderly*, is bringing pets to visit. It's proven that helps depression, blood pressure, and I don't know what all else. Of course, then you have a whole different set of issues, finding a place that allows that, finding the *right* pet to bring, etc.

And you are right, it could be *you* in need one day.

By Mommyathome on Monday, March 10, 2003 - 10:49 pm:

That is a great suggestion. My Dad was actually in a nursing home for 10 yrs before he died, so I spent a lot of time there as a kid. I started going when I was 11 and it really changed my life. It was great to see all the residents and the happiness that you could bring to them just by smiling and saying hello. My mom started a project called "christmas for the care center" where our church would collect new items all year that we would wrap and give to the residents. Some of them would cry when we gave them their gifts because they were so touched by the kindness. Experiences like this really taught me what was important in life. I can't wait till my kids are a bit older and they can start to make things for our local care center.