When my family gets together, it’s always a lively and active affair. My grown children, their friends, my husband, and I almost always join in on a friendly run, a scenic hike, or a walk. We love getting our bodies moving and enjoying the outdoors together.
We also have a great time playing games. Board games, card games, Bananagrams®, and Rat-a-Tat Cat® are some of our favorites. These moments of play are not just about having fun; they are about connecting across generations.
Playing together fosters strong social bonds and offers a host of health benefits. It keeps you active, sharpens your mind, and strengthens your relationships. This custom of play across all ages has been honored throughout time. It continues to bring joy and well-being to our family gatherings.
What is intergenerational play?
This form of play is a shared interest that brings together people of many ages, most often for fun. Its focus is on meaningful and direct engagement. According to the National Institute for Play, “Play is a state of being. Neurons light up across the brain and create a ‘play state.’”
Using movement and motion through intergenerational play—such as recreational sports—is one joyful way to stay active throughout life. Others might include:
- Taking part in recreational sports or working out together
- Playing music with others
- Taking part in imaginative (pretend) play with young children
Play with people of all ages can enhance the experience by bringing in new views and skills. Being both a teacher and a learner benefits everyone physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively.
Intergenerational play can take many forms
Let’s face it. Playing with people of all ages is a great way to stay healthy and have fun. And this kind of play can take many forms. The main ingredient is bringing folks of different generations together and exploring activities you all enjoy.
You might want to gather to solve puzzles, play board games, or tell stories. Planning and making meals together can be a form of play. Reading aloud or doing arts and crafts together can be, too.
You may also want to engage in more active forms of play. This might entail joyful movements like running, jumping, climbing, dancing, or gardening together. You can find group activities that involve sprinting or skipping (like the races you took part in as a kid). Or you might try something that’s more relaxed and lasts longer, like hiking or swimming. Whether you're playing a sport, going for a group run, or just having fun outside—group play helps keep everyone fit, healthy, and feeling good.
Forging stronger social bonds through play
When kids play with others, they learn how to interact and improve their motor skills. Teenagers and young adults can benefit in these ways, too. Play with people of all ages can also boost mental health and self-esteem, as well as help you make friends.
For adults, playing helps sharpen decision-making skills, builds bonds, and breaks down age-based labels. When you play with others, the social bonds you forge can give you a sense of purpose and improve your mental and emotional health. When people of many ages play together, they all benefit, making the experience fun and deeply meaningful for all involved.
Other health benefits of play
- Brain health. Regular physical activity supports your brain health, but so do more intellectual forms of group play, such as games and puzzles. Both kinds of play can boost memory, concentration, faster thinking, and problem-solving skills. Active forms of play may also help lower levels of certain brain chemicals that are linked to dementia.
- Fitness. Sports and other active forms of group play can boost your endurance, agility, and strength. They can also strengthen your heart and lungs and help you stay mobile and independent.
- Bone and muscle health. Forms of play that involve walking, jogging, jumping, dancing, or climbing can help build bone strength and lessen the risk of breaks. Strength training with bands or weights, or going to intergenerational group tai chi or yoga classes, can also support better bone health and muscle strength.
Intergenerational playgroups in senior care facilities
In one study out of Australia, playgroups were brought together in senior care facilities. They included mothers, fathers, grandparents, caregivers, children, and babies. This study also included older adults with and without dementia. The study found that the vital social bonds and friendships made through this project helped enhance personal and community well-being.
The playgroups benefited the older adults in several ways. They enjoyed the group activities and talking with people of many ages. Their interactions caused them to look back fondly on their own childhood and parenting years. It also changed how they thought about different generations and senior care facilities, sparking a more open-minded and positive view of both.
One of the residents, Gloria, commented:
“I think [the intergenerational playgroup] is rather good. For us older people, we get connected with the young children. At this time of day, we haven’t got much to do at our place. So I’m happy to come down. I think it is a very good idea, something to do.”
One of the mothers, Sharon, said,
“I love it. I think it is correct. It is the way it should be. We shouldn’t have just all children’s group and mother’s group together. We should be more representative of the community...Coming here and [having] people that are really ready and waiting, and willing to hold your baby and chat, and who [are] genuinely interested. And I can see they get something out of it.”
In a popular documentary series, Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds , 11 older Australians, aged 70 through 90, and 10 preschoolers got together over 7 weeks. They painted, gardened, took group walks, put on talent shows, and bonded. The children then guessed the adult’s age. Many guessed 100! For every older participant, rates of depression and loneliness decreased and their health improved.
The intergenerational playgroups created a sense of community and benefited all ages involved. As fewer multigenerational homes exist at this time, more families feel isolated. Intergenerational play can help solve this problem by connecting family members both young and old. 
Intergenerational play is in your backyard…and growing
Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow older; we grow older because we stop playing.”
Play is not just helpful, but vital for people of all ages. As a result, new public spaces are being designed to help foster intergenerational play.
All around the world, more older adults are spending time with their grandchildren in play zones. Singapore has made it simpler for different generations to play together. In 2017, they opened their first intergenerational playground and baby and childcare center within a nursing home complex. This playground has special features to help both young and old. It has a seesaw with a ramp for wheelchairs, a merry-go-round with wheel-locks for wheelchairs, and special seats for toddlers.
In the United States, more playgrounds are being built to give access to a range of users. The designs take into account the needs of older adults. For instance, the merry-go-round is being redesigned to include seats or benches so older people can get on and take a spin. Designers have also included shaded seating and safe seating away from trash cans.
A U.S. nonprofit, KaBOOM!, is driving funds to communities that assess what’s needed for all ages to thrive and play in their neighborhoods. Members come together to volunteer, build, and add to playgrounds. Even some U.S. health companies are investing in intergenerational play spaces.
Public spaces are key to making this happen. This has brought about the idea of Intergenerational Contact Zones . Almost any space can have elements of play that bring people out of their ageist mindsets and welcome them to form new bonds. All cities can use their formal and informal spaces to meet the needs of people of all ages and help them learn to play together.
As communities around the world grow older, it is important to recognize and support the need for people of all ages to connect with one another. Play is one of the best ways to foster these links.
No matter your community’s makeup or setting, intergenerational play can happen. Find someone in your town who has the same vision as you. Look at your playgrounds and public spaces. Reach out to people in different age groups within your community to explore opportunities for play. Make guidelines for how to set these play spaces up. You could even partner with a local senior center.
Or gather your family, nieces, nephews, children, parents, grandparents, and grandchildren. Let the play happen naturally or outline some activities. The main thing is to spend quality time together and reap the many benefits of intergenerational play.
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This information is not intended to take the place of regular medical care or advice. Please check with your doctor before using this information or beginning any self-care program. Images used for this article do not depict any members of the Silver&Fit program.
References
ABC iview. (2021, April 24). 4-year-old Aika finds comfort in her 82-year-old friend John Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiSFczI-JPs
Bernie DeKovan. (2021). Play is forever: Benefits of intergenerational play. Intergenerational Play Project. https://www.gu.org/app/uploads/2018/06/Intergenerational-FactSheet-Play-Is-Forever.pdf
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Macpherson, H., Teo, W., Schneider, L. A., & Smith, A. E. (2017, May 22). A life-long approach to physical activity for brain health. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00147
National Council on Aging. (2024, September 27). How intergenerational play helps people of all ages. https://www.ncoa.org/article/play-for-all-ages-the-benefits-of-intergenerational-recreational-physical-activity/
Play Matters. (2024, July 2). The benefits of intergenerational play: Bridging generations through fun and learning. https://playmatters.org.au/blog/the-benefits-of-intergenerational-play-bridging-generations-through-fun-and-learning
Sharifi, S., Khorzoughi, K. B., Khaledi-Paveh, B., & Rahmati, M. (2023). Association of intergenerational relationship and supports with cognitive performance in older adults: A systematic review. Geriatric Nursing, 52, 146–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.05.014
Skropeta, C. M., Colvin, A., & Sladen, S. (2014, October 8). An evaluative study of the benefits of participating in intergenerational playgroups in aged care for older people. BMC Geriatrics, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-14-109
Stephan, A. & Avilés, J. (2024, September 27). Play for all ages: The benefits of intergenerational recreational physical activity. National Council on Aging. https://www.ncoa.org/article/play-for-all-ages-the-benefits-of-intergenerational-recreational-physical-activity/
This article was written by Kimberley Reynolds, edited by Gail Olson, and clinically reviewed by Elizabeth Thompson, MPH, RDN, on December 20, 2024.
