"My Grammie is coming and I didn’t see her ‘cept for one time since I was 3 years old," says Leesha, age 5 to her preschool teacher.

Hearing Leesha reminded me of a wonderful woman I called "Gran." The time we spent together will always hold a special place in my heart. As I remembered those shared moments, I realized how fortunate I was to have a grandparent who played an important role in my growing up. I believe those experiences directly influenced my personal beliefs and expectations about aging.

Unfortunately, many of today’s children have little contact with grandparents and older people. Their families are more mobile than those of earlier generations. Fewer parents today pass into adulthood and continue to live in their hometowns. Few married children live with their parents and raise their children in an extended family environment. As adult children move away, they and their children have less opportunity to build relationships with grandparents and older relatives.

Another factor that can interfere with these relationships is a tendency to overemphasize independence and self-reliance. Children may grow up with the idea that they must be emotionally isolated. They may downplay the wisdom traditionally linked with senior family members. This perception widens the generation gap not only geographically, but emotionally.

A third factor that can create barriers between young and old is the lifestyle change of people 55 and older. They are not only healthier and living longer than any previous generation but also involved in more activities. We see them doing much more than tending to gardens, fishing, or baking cookies. Often they are beginning second careers, leading companies, making valuable contributions to the arts, traveling, attending college, and sharing their expertise with others.

A Child’s View
In spite of the varied and rich lives of many mature individuals, children often hold negative views and inaccurate perceptions of them. For example, 4-year-old Matt overhears two teachers talking. One teacher asks the other, "How’s your mother doing?" At this point, Matt looks up at his teacher and says, "YOU have a MOTHER?"

His teacher tells him about her 70-year-old-mom. He listens and then, with a look of disbelief, asks, "How does she do all that stuff if she’s so old?"

Many young children see aging as being increasing passive, sick, unable to function without help, less productive, unfulfilled and unhappy, or dying. For example, 3-year-old Damon says, "I’ll be the daddy," as he plays with classmates Tamika and Dominique. Tamika quickly chimes in, "I’ll be the baby, and Dominique can be the grandma." Immediately, Dominique replies, "Grandma! I don’t want to be the grandma. Grandmas are old and get sick all the time."

Researchers have reported that children, even as young as 3, have begun to perceptions about the elderly (Burke, 1982; Dobrosky, 1986; Jantz, Seefeldt, Galper and Serlock, 1977).Unfortunately, their views are similar to those of teens and adults.

As educators and childcare professionals, we need to know why biases exist and work toward reducing them.

Why Biases Exist
Americans value youth. As a culture, we equate youth with beauty, vitality, and health. At the same time, we view the aging process as one of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social loss.

Many adults, both consciously and unconsciously, harbor biases about seniors. Perhaps we laugh at our own occasional lapses of memory as a result of "getting older." Maybe we find ourselves wanting to do something for an older person that they are capable of doing for themselves. We may find ourselves choosing the younger rather than the older person as we ask for directions, develop friendships, or select who gets the job. Our daily comments and actions may imply "older is not better."

Aging biases are culturally transmitted; adults pass their beliefs on to children. The same myths and misconceptions about the elderly and the aging process that exist among adults are to a large extent shared by children (Allen, 1981;Burke, 1982; McTavish, 1971; Pratt, 1981; Seefeldt, 1989).

We often see these biases portrayed in the media. The mature adult often appears in advertisements of products such as denture creams, vitamins, and laxatives. When older persons are portrayed in television programs, they often have minor roles and are shown as crotchety and senile, helpless victims, or troublemakers rather than problem solvers.

Although each new season brings improvements, we see few examples that support a more balanced view of adults who are older. The omission of seniors in positive roles seems to imply that the elderly don’t do anything important enough to be on television.

What Can Adults Do?
Bridging the generation gap begins with looking within ourselves. Aging, like race and gender, is an important issue. To think of aging in a negative way is another bias and destructive practice that affects young and old alike.

As teachers and caregivers, we can begin to see and celebrate the "diversity of the aged." Accepting aging is not a lesson that can be taught but rather a belief, a wisdom, a consciousness that can be developed and valued. To fully accept aging, we need to be comfortable with our own aging.

We can examine our lives—where we have been and what we have accomplished—and applaud ourselves for the steps we have made. In doing this, we can look to the future with the attitude that "the best is yet to come."

Our goal is to free our classrooms and curricula of biases and respect diversity. We can help children appreciate the differences among us as elements that make our society a rich and colorful mosaic. The mosaic is never complete, but continues to grow and develop its beauty as we continue to appreciate the variety each piece presents. The aging pieces add more colors and depth to the mosaic.

We can find opportunities to reduce and eliminate stereotypes by highlighting the variety in appearance, behaviors, roles, and likes and dislikes of persons who are elderly.. Not all older women wear aprons and bake cookies, just as not all older men walk with a cane and act grouchy. Our senior years are a time of limitless possibilities.

Literature Offers a Balance
In our work with children, we can use literature as a tool to offer visual and aural information. As children read books and listen to stories, they need to see a diversity in age just as they see the diversity in skin color, gender, and abilities. Characters need to demonstrate the full range of human behaviors, emotions, and roles.

Recently, a number of children’s books have appeared on the market that raise seniors from background characters to main ones. These books also show adults and children in a wide variety of activities. The reader or listener can experience much more than Grandma making a quilt and Grandpa relaxing in a chair on the front porch.

Consider the following sampling of new intergenerational books. We see the young and old making snow angels in Grandma’s Promise (Moore, 1988), solving a family problem in The Purple Coat (Hest, 1986), attending an opera in Amazing Grace (Hoffman, 1991), and helping others in important, positive and long-lasting ways in Miss Rumphius (Cooney, 1982) and My Great Aunt Arizona (Houston, 1992).

The reader or listener feels the joy between Mrs. Simpson and Anne in Loop the Loop (Dugan, 1992), a story of love and interdependence between the generations. Other delightful intergenerational teams appear in What Goes Around Comes Around (Ward, 1991), The Song and Dance Man (Ackerman, 1988), Mrs. Katz and Tush (Polacco, 1988), Where the River Begins (Locker, 1984), and Take Me to the Ball Game (Kovinski, 1993).

This is not to say that we avoid books that portray older persons in a less than flattering way. Rather, we realize that all books invite critical review and discussion and provide a full range of life’s events and emotions. We see young and old spending time together in a nursing home in Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge (Fox, 1985), and we empathize with the child who lovingly follows the recovery of his grandfather who has had a stroke in Now One Foot, Now the Other (dePaola, 1981).

By selecting a variety of books that present diversity in behaviors, appearance, and roles as well as a full range of emotions, teachers and caregivers begin to offer balance in the classroom. The discussions that come after we read and tell the these kinds of stories can help reduce existing stereotypes and discrimination of older people. Our responsibility is to raise children’s awareness so they can appreciate the varied and rich lives seniors enjoy.

We can encourage children to develop realistic perceptions of aging outside the pages of books as well. These enriching encounters can be more than the occasional "Grandparents Day" or a visit to the nursing home. Rather, we can engage seniors in ongoing school activities. These might include asking them to work as an aide in the classroom, share their interests or expertise, read to the class or an individual child, and serve as an additional hand on field trips.

Persons who are older can share the experiences of the classroom just as any parent or interested adult might. We can involve them in many ways and on a regular basis, without patronizing them. Our responsibility is to ask for their help and encourage, welcome, and value their participation.

Celebrating Diversity
No one can dispute that children learn a great deal from those who surround them. We know that values and attitudes are learned early in life and continually influence behavior throughout one’s lifetime. If children are to develop a better understanding of the elderly and the aging process, they need appropriate models to guide them.

As teachers and caregivers, we can demonstrate through our behavior and attitudes that aging is a natural stage in the life cycle—one that can be rewarding and full of possibilities. When we develop a healthy attitude toward our own aging, young and old alike can begin to build stronger relationships with each other.

References
Ackerman, K. The Song and Dance Man. New York:Knopf, 1988.

Allen, B. "Knowledge of aging. A cross-sectional study of three different age groups," Educational Geruntology, 6, 49-60, 1981.

Burke, J.L. "Young children’s attitudes and perceptions of older adults," International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 14, 205-222, 1982.

Cooney, B. Miss Rumphius. New York: Puffin, 1982.

Dobrosky, B.J. "Children’s perceptions of old people." Educational Geruntology, 12, 429-439, 1986.

Dugan, B. Loop the Loop. New York: Puffin, 1992.

DePaola, T. Now One Foot, Now the Other. New York: Putnam, 1981.

Fox, M. Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. New York: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 1985.

Hest, A. The Purple Coat. New York: Four Winds, 1986.

Hoffman, M. Amazing Grace. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1991.

Houston, G. My Great Aunt Arizona. New York: Harper Collins, 1992.

Jantz, R.K.; C. Seefeldt; A. Galper; and K. Serlock. "Children’s attitude towards the elderly," Social Education, 41, 518-523, 1977.

Kovinski, M. Take Me Out to the Ball Game. New York: Scholastic, 1993.

Locker, T. Where the River Begins. New York: Dial, 1984.

McTavish, D. "Perceptions of old people: A review of the research methodologies and findings," Gerontologist, 11, 90-101, 1971.

Moore, E. Grandma’s Promise. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, 1988.

Polacco, P. Mrs. Katz and Tush. New York: Bantam, 1992.

Pratt, F. What’s It All About? Washington, D.C.: Department of Education, (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 211 405), 1981.

Seefeldt, C. "Intergenerational programs: Impact on attitudes," Haworth Journal, 185-193, 1989.

Rudman, M.K. Children’s Literature: An Issues Approach (3^rd ed.). new York: Longman, 1995

Treybig, DC "Language, children and attitudes toward the aged," Gerontologist, 14, 14-75, 1974.

Ward, S. What Goes Around Comes Around. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

Additional Anti-Ageism Books
Bahr, M. The Memory Box. New York: Albert Whitman, 1992.

Bunting, E. The Wednesday Surprise. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Carlson, N. A Visit to Grandma’s. New York: Viking, 1991.

Delton, J. and D. Tucker. My Grandma’s in a Nursing Home. New York: Albert Whitman, 1986.

dePaola, T. Strega Nona. New York: Scholastic, 1975.

Dexter, A. Grandma. New York: Willa Pelman, 1992.

Dorros, A. Abuela. New York: Dutton, 1991.

Drucker, M. Grandma’s Latkes. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1992.

Engel, D. Eleanor, Arthur, and Claire. New York: Macmillan, 1992.

Fox, M. Shoes From Grandpa. New York, Orchard, 1989.

Gackenbach, D. With Love from Gran. New York: Clarion, 1989.

Greenblat, R. Uncle Wizzmo’s New Used Car. New York: Harper Row, 1990.

Greenfield, E. Grandpa’s Face. New York: Philomel, 1988.

Griffith, H. Granddaddy’s Place. New York: Mulberry, 1987.

Guthrie, D. Grandpa Doesn’t Know It’s Me. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1986.

Hilton, N. The Long Red Scarf. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1990.

Hines, A.G. Grandma Gets Grumpy. New York: Clarion, 1989.

Hines, A.G. Grandma’s Walk. New York: Greenwillow, 1993.

Howard, E. Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later). New York: Clarion, 1991.

Johnson, A. When I Am Old With You. New York: Orchard, 1990.

Johnson, T. The Quilt Story. New York: Putnam, 1985.

Kellelman, W. Emma. New York: Dell, 1980.

Laskey, K. My Island Grandma. New York: Morrow, 1993.

Levine, A. Pearl Moscowitz’s Last Stand. New York: Tambourine, 1993.

Levinson, R. I Go With My Family to Grandma’s. New York: Puffin, 1986.

MacLachlin, P. Through Grandpa’s Eyes. New York: Harper, 1980.

Moore, E. Grandma’s Garden. New York: Lothrop, 1994.

Nelson, V. Always Gramma. New York: Putnam, 1988.

Pearson, S. Happy Birthday, Grampie. New York: Dial, 1987.

Rylant, C. When I Was Young in the Mountains. New York: Dutton, 1982.

Schotter, R. Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane. New York: Orchard, 1989.

Simon, N. The Saddest Time. New York: Albert Whitman, 1986.

Stewart, D. The Dove. New York: Greenwillow, 1993.

Thomas, J.R. Saying Good-bye to Grandma. New York: Clarion, 1988.

Waggoner, K. The Lemonade Babysitter. New York: Little and Brown, 1992.

Whitman, S. A Special Trade. New York: Harper, 1978.

Wild, M. Our Granny. New York: Tickor & Fields, 1994.

Williams, B. Kevin’s Grandma. New York: Dutton, 1975.

Zolotow, C. I Know a Lady. New York: Puffin, 1984.

Zolotow, C. My Grandson Lew. New York: Harper, 1974.