Images of Aging

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Images of Aging

• Childrens Ideas About Being Old (K-5)
• Elizabeth Larkin, Ed.D.
• University of South Florida, Sarasota/Manatee

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Daughtrey Preparatory School of Arts Sciences
a public magnet school, K-5

• 3 kindergarten classrooms
• 1 second grade
• 2 third grades
• 2 fifth grades
• 6 USF interns and 2 auxiliary teachers at the
  school participated.

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Selected picture story books with older adult
characters were read to each class. Children
were asked to compare the older character in the
story with someone they know who is old using a
Venn diagram.
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Kindergarten The Napping House

• How do you know the Granny is old?
• Cuz shes a granny
• She has gray hair
• Old people get big and gross
• Old people get wrinkles
• My granny makes chicken wings

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Kindergarten Our Granny

• Children ask Mrs. D.
• Do you have a pet ?
• Are you a granny?
• Do you have false teeth?
• Do you march in a band?
• Do you watch TV?
• Do you use a computer?
• Do you drive a truck?
• Do you like golf?

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Mrs. D. is old because

• She gots bras and wears glasses.
• She a grown up.

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2nd Grade Grandpas Face

• That Grandpa has glasses
• He doesnt have a beard
• My person has yellow/orange hair
• Old people have a cane
• but the Grandpa in the story doesnt
• They walk like this stooped
• but mine doesnt
• They get shorter.

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3rd Grade How Old Is Old?

• Old people have canes and can be 100 years old.
  Some of their hair falls out.
• Some teeth fall out and they are wrinkly.
• They have a lot of hair on their back.
• Old people can break their teeth on candy.

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We know theyre old because

• Old people have old friends
• They are older than me
• We want to help them
• I look up to my granddad to learn how to fix
  stuff. He knows everythingwell, not everything
• We see them like God

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5th Grade Pablos Tree

• How old is old?
• 57
• 50
• 48
• 100
• My great grandmother was almost 100 when she
  passed away.
• The World Record is 154!

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Who do you know who is old?

• Excuse me, Dr. L. do you have kids? She has
  to have kids if she has grandkids!
• My grandfather is too skinny. He doesnt eat
  anything, he just drinks and smokes.
• Can I use Mr. McC.? Hes really old!
• Ill use President Bush because he has gray hair
  and stuff.

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Interviews Reta (age 75)

• They are very respectful, especially the Hispanic
  kids. Alberto is being raised by his
  grandmother.
• The kindergartners have been cuddled and loved by
  grandparents and thats what they associate with.
  
• They accept me for who I am they dont look
  beyond my being fair.
• I say Im old, and they deny it!

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Interviews Ann (age 70)

• One day she intervened in a scuffle and
  disciplined a boy, who angrily insulted her
  saying, Youre just an old lady!
• They make connections with what they know. If a
  character in the books cuddles, they say, My
  grandma does that.
• I have tried to hide my age from them, because
  were afraid they wont relate to us if they
  think were old.
• Hadnt thought of herself as a role model in
  terms of aging well.

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Developmental perspective

• At age 5, young children understand how old
  they are, and see old in comparison to others
  being older than themselves.
• Their number sense doesnt go very high, so any
  number (age) higher than 20 is much older than
  they are (grown-ups).

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Kindergarten

• They associate grandparents with being old, but
  many of their own grandparents are not even 50.
• Older adults may have gray hair and glasses, but
  they also participate in many kinds of activities
  that all adults do.

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Middle grades (2nd-3rd)

• Starting to differentiate characteristics of
  individual people who are older.
• Understand that physical characteristics may
  indicate age, but do not assume that all old
  people go bald, walk with a cane, or wear
  glasses.
• Look for similarities between stories and
  personal experience.

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5th Grade

• Ready to look beyond physical indicators of age,
  but dont have enough information to make deeper
  comparisons
• Work
• Number of children
• Marital status
• Ethnicity
• Still are challenged to stretch their conceptual
  understanding of aging through literature, and
  tend to rely on personal experience.

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Aint Been Taught (ABT)

• The topic of aging is avoided so as not to offend
  anyone (no one wants to be considered old).
• Teachers do not think it is appropriate to
  discuss their own age (or any aches and pains
  associated with aging).
• Grandparents are getting younger! The grandparent
  generation does not consider itself old. Many
  families have 4 generations living.

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How can children develop their ideas?

• Reading stories with older adult characters is an
  easy way to open the conversation.
• Many recent books have older adult characters
  that depict a wide diversity of role models for
  aging.
• Talk with children about aging, especially
  following movies, TV shows, etc. that contain
  stereotypes.