Babies brought ‘so much joy’
Dedworth: A ‘wholesome’ and ‘heartwarming’ session
Residents at a care home in Dedworth enjoyed an intergenerational session set up by a baby class provider last week.
On Wednesday, March 13, parents and their babies visited Winton House Care Home (which is part of The Abbeyfield Maidenhead Society) to spend an hour meeting and interacting with residents.
The session was the brainchild of Sara Jackson, franchise owner at Bloom Baby Classes Maidenhead and Windsor which has been running sensory and development classes for babies across Maidenhead and Windsor for about a yearand-a-half.
Delivered by teacher Louise Sweetman, the session saw residents join in with the youngsters for a host of activities, before spending some time talking to the parents and interacting with their babies.
Sara said: “We ran a full class – what we would normally do day-to-day, so lots of activities to keep the babies engaged, but we also handed out equipment for the residents as well.
“We have a song which we use pom-poms for, so the residents all had pom-poms as well and they joined in.
“We do another song with shakers and the residents had those and the same with clicking sticks as well.
“The residents sat and did the session whilst we did it with the babies.”
After about half-an-hour of activities, parents then introduced themselves and their babies to the residents.
“The residents had cuddles with the babies, and it was kind of just a mix-andmingle for around half-anhour,” said Sara.
Sara, who also runs another franchise, Bloom Baby Classes North Reading, previously organised two of the same type of sessions in Caversham.
“Babies do just bring so much joy to people. Seeing
the faces of all the residents today, you can’t describe it.
“It was just so heartwarming to see how happy they were.
“I think it surpassed everything that we were expecting.
“Just seeing how happy everyone was, and the feedback from the parents has been really good as well,” she said.
Sara added that she is looking to set up a partnership with Winton House Care Home to provide a session once a month.
Reflecting on last week, she added: “It is probably one of the most wholesome sessions we’ve ever done.
“The residents just seemed to get so much benefit from being around babies the whole time and the mums love it, they find it really enjoyable as well and find it quite rewarding too.”
For more information about Bloom Baby Classes Maidenhead and Windsor, visit: bloombabyclasses.com /maidenhead-and-windsor/