4. Teaching Seniors about children's need for autonomy

1. Immediately stop the interaction, pull the senior aside and give him/her some direct, clear feedback
2. Immediately stop the interaction, pull the senior aside, and give him/her some indirect feedback (e.g. gentle hints about what to do and not to do)
3. Watch first to see if the children mind this modeling. IF yes, following the activity, suggest to the senior that he/she look for a sign of distress or a request for help before offering to take over. There is a difference between "doing with" and "doing for" children.

Answer

3. An intergenerational relationship will develop better if the participants learn to trust each other.

For more information on communicating with senior volunteers, see pages 15-18 and 25 of the guidebook.