In today's society, children often have little opportunity to engage in meaningful interactions with older adults. There is a trend away from extended families to nuclear families (McCollum & Shreeve, 1994), and young couples just starting out often move away from their hometowns and relocate in places they can find employment and affordable housing. In some cases, families settle in new neighborhoods which attract young professionals, thereby minimizing opportunities for children to interact with grandparents or older adults (Kupetz, 1993).

Dellmann-Jenkins and Yang, researchers at Kent State University, recently conducted a study of the ways in which older adults are portrayed in children's picture books. The researchers chose to do an analysis of the 95 books (published between 1972 and 1995) that have received the prestigious Caldecott Medal or Caldecott Honor for outstanding illustrations in children's picture books. They found that:

* Only 12% (11 of 95) of the award-winners included a depiction of an older adult character.

* Books published between 1984 and 1995 had significantly more positive portrayals of older adult characters than those published between 1972 and 1983.

* In the more recent set of books, older adult characters are more often described as "right," "wonderful," "good," "caring," or "happy" than those in the older set of books.

* In the entire set of books analyzed, men were shown as "active" more often than women, and women were shown as "frightened" more often than men.

An interesting finding of the study is that older adult characters in the award-winning books are shown positively. In contrast, prior studies revealed that depictions of older adults in popular picture books (not award winners) show them as sick, dirty, poor, unfriendly, wrong, terrible, ugly, sad, bad, harmful, passive, irritable, lazy, cold-hearted, ignorant, or boring.

In a study of children's basal readers, Kutknecht (1986) found that the elderly do not appear as main characters, and statements made about them in the stories are more often negative than positive.

Studies on Children's Attitudes about Older Adults

In their 1994 article, McCollum and Shreeve discuss research on children's attitudes about older adults. Donorfio's (1991) study found that at each grade level, 60 to 70% of the children gave a negative response when asked to talk about how they feel about getting old. When they drew pictures of older adults, they drew them as helpful and friendly, but frail individuals in wheelchairs or using walkers. An earlier study by Jantz (1978) reported that children said the elderly are sad, depressed, and dying.

These findings are somewhat understandable, based on the contexts in which children get information about older adults. In addition to children's literature, children see depictions of older adults on television programs and advertisements. The media often depict older adults as rigid, meddlesome, unhealthy, and forgetful. Older adults are typically seen in advertisements for denture cremes or laxatives (Arluke & Levin, 1982).

Aday, Sims, McDuffie and Evans (1996) designed a study in which they brought children (4th graders) and senior citizens together for a series of activities over a 9-month period. Each child was paired with an older adult, and went through the following activities: (1) seniors visit the child's school; (2) child visits the senior's center; (3) exchange of small gift at Christmas; (4) painting to music produced from the 1930s to the present; (5) discussion of childhood games, activities, and values; (6) performance of songs and skits; (7) an informal time for sharing and deepening friendship and knowledge of each other; and (8) a farewell picnic in which participants talked about what the program had meant to them. Immediately following the period, a test was administered that indicated the children had significantly more positive attitudes toward the elderly than did a group of children who did not participate in the study. The children who participated were retested again after 5 years, and the researchers found that they had maintained their positive attitudes.

How Can We Use This Information?

Given the prevalence of negative depictions of older adults in the media and popular children's books, parents and teachers can take active steps to help their children gain more realistic understandings of older adults.

Self-reflection:

Parents and teachers can reflect on their own attitudes about older adults. Developing an awareness of their own attitudes is an important first step in helping children develop more positive attitudes themselves. Kupetz (1993) suggests adults ask themselves the following questions to examine their own attitudes: (1) Have you experienced a lapse of memory and said "I must be getting old!"? (2) Do you fear that getting older will mean you will be less healthy and more dependent on others? (3) Do you expect your days as a senior citizen to be less active and unproductive? (4) When you think of older adults, do rocking chairs and nursing homes come to mind? (5) Do you think that older adults are "set in their ways" and resistant to change or development of new abilities and ideas?

In-school programs:

Parents can encourage their children's teachers to explore ways of bringing older adults into the classroom as volunteers. These "intergenerational programs" (Aday, Sims, McDuffie, & Evans, 1996) allow children the opportunity to interact with older adults, and can result in improved perceptions of older adults. Parents can offer to provide transportation for older adults from their homes to schools.

Teachers can explore ways in which relationships can be established between schools and senior citizen nursing homes. School children can visit nursing homes on a regular basis, reading to the residents, or organizing activities like bingo, lunches, socials, or entertainment programs (plays or "talent night") in which both children and residents participate (McCollum & Shreeve, 1994).

Teachers can look for curricula that focus on healthy aging.

Using children's literature:

Parents can encourage their children to select award-winning books at the school library or when purchasing books.

When reading a book to a child that has a negative depiction of an older adult, the parent can pause to talk about that depiction, comparing it to older adults the child knows.

Compare the similarities or differences in the ways that older adults are depicted with the child's own experiences with older adults, highlighting the diversity in ability and activity that exists among older adults.

With improved health care and medical treatments of disease, adults are experiencing longer life spans, and the United States is becoming a society of older people (Aday, Sims, McDuffie, & Evans, 1996). With their overall better health, they are remaining active. Older adults own and lead major companies, ride motorcycles, and engage in strenuous physical activities like peak climbing and marathon running (Kupetz, 1993). In addition, many older adults are avid users of the Internet, as both consumers and users of information (Imel, 1997). With effort, parents can help children see older adults as vital, healthy, contributing members of society. With these improved attitudes, it is hoped that children and people in general will not fear growing old. Through increased education and interaction, future generations can learn that growing old does not mean becoming worthless and waiting for death. Rather, growing old is simply a physical process that all living things begin on the day they are born (Garbin, 1998).

Sources

Aday, Ronald H.; Sims, Cyndee R.; McDuffie, Wini; & Evans, Emilie. (1996). Changing children's attitudes toward the elderly: The longitudinal effects of an intergenerational partners program. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 10(2), 143-151.

Arluke, Arnold, & Levin, Jack. (1982). Second childhood. Public Communication Review, 1(2), 21-25.

Delmann-Jenkins, Mary, & Yang, Lisa. (1997). The portrayal of older people in award-winning literature for children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 12(1), 96-100.

Garbin, Ed J., Jr. Ageism in modern society [Online]. Available: http://www.eng.usf.edu/~garbin/ageism.htm [1998, May 11].

Imel, Susan. (1997). A new look at older adults. Trends and issues alert. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

Kupetz, Barbara N. (1993). Bridging the gap between young and old. Children Today, 22(2), 10-13.

Kutneck, Bruce. (1986). Depictions of aging and the elderly in primary grade reading instruction material. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, December 2-6, 1986.

McCollum, Sue, & Shreeve, William. (1994). Young and old making a difference. Early Child Development and Care, 99, 103-112.