Children reading to the elderly can heal divided nation, says Rantzen
EVERY primary school in Britain should team up with a care home so children can read stories to elderly people to help heal our “divided nation”, Dame Esther Rantzen has suggested.
The 79-year-old journalist and TV presenter has called for different generations to spend more time together to share experiences and help combat the loneliness of isolated people.
She said: “We live in a divided nation. For once I am not lambasting politicians for this. Because I can’t blame them for the divide which I believe causes damaging pain, the gulf between generations. Even the oldest and the youngest need each other.
“The old need the young to keep us fit, strong and happy.
“The young need the old to tell them our stories and stop them stumbling into the same old landmines.”
Dame Esther, who founded Childline in 1986, went on to launch The Silver Line in 2012 which sees pupils telephone older people, known as “Silver Listeners”, once a week from school and read to them.
“To be read to once a week is a pleasure,” she added. “When you are deprived of children’s company, to be read to by six-year-olds is a special joy. Some of the saddest conversations I have ever had were on Christmas Day – speaking to older people who spent it on their own with only the occasional phone call to break the silence in their homes.
“This Christmas I will be speaking, as I have for the past six years, to Silver Line callers, older people who are living alone, isolated from children, whose memories of happier years deepen their loneliness, but for whom Christmas is now, as one told me last year, ‘Just another day to get through’.”
According to data from Age UK published last year the number of over-50s experiencing loneliness is set to reach 2million by 2025-6. This compares to about 1.4million in 2016-7 – a 49 per cent increase in 10 years, and experts warn that this figure will continue to rise. Last year Dame Esther claimed that old people were not as well-treated as animals because they are “not cuddly enough”.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Schools have the flexibility to provide extra-curricular activities for their pupils, including volunteering in their community, and we fully support them doing so.”
The Silver Line is one of three charities supported by this year’s Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal.
Our two other charities are Leukaemia Care, which provides support to individuals and families affected by blood cancer; and Wooden Spoon, which works with Britain’s rugby community to raise money for disabled and disadvantaged children. n To make a donation, visit telegraph. co.uk/charity, or call 0151 284 1927.