隨著日本人口的高齡化，療養院的使用也迅速增長。根據日本政府的資料，在2005年至2020年期間，此類療養院的數量增加了一倍多並達到180萬間。此外，裡面是孤寂和沉悶的生活。

As Japan’s population has aged, the use of nursing homes has grown rapidly. According to the Japanese government, the number of such homes more than doubled between 2005 and 2020, reaching 1.8 million. In addition, life can be lonely and dull there

福岡縣南部的Moyai Seiyukai 療養院正在尋找剛出生的人選，以陪伴該設施的老年居民。研究顯示社交互動可以減少長者的孤獨感、延緩智力衰退、降低血壓以及生病和死亡風險。跨世代社交也被證明可以吸引長者，讓他們微笑和更多交談。對兒童而言，這些世代間互動亦證明有益於他們的社會和個人發展。

The Moyai Seiyukai nursing home in Fukuoka's southern prefecture is looking for candidates who are fresh out of the womb to keep the facility's elderly residents company. Studies have linked social interaction with less loneliness, delayed mental decline, lower blood pressure and reduced risk of disease and death among older people. Socializing across generations has also been shown to draw older people out, making them smile and talk more. For children, these intergenerational interactions have been shown to benefit their social and personal development.

人選年齡必須在0 到3 歲之間。他們不會說日語並可得到尿布和配方奶粉為報酬。他們可以隨時來上班，而必須一直在旁的監護人可以陪伴嬰兒們與療養院居民一起散步。

Applicants must be between the ages of zero and three. They should not be able to speak Japanese and will be paid in diapers and formula. They can come to work whenever they want, and their guardians, who must always accompany their infants, can accompany them on walks with the nursing home residents.

療養院對這些小訪客的期望很低，因為他們很難被圈制。幼兒被要求在院內到處走動並與居民們互動，父母則協助嬰兒四處溜達。一位孩子因太小而無法上學或至日托中心的父母表示，在疫情風險讓許多家庭被限制居家時，療養院為他們的孩子提供難得的安全社交機會。他們還認為，療養院已採取足夠的預防措施來防止病毒傳播，以保護其脆弱的居民。

Expectations from the nursing home are loose for these little visitors, since they can be hard to corral. Toddlers are asked to stroll around the nursing home and interact with the residents, and parents help the babies circulate. One parents whose children are mostly too young for school or day care, said the nursing home provided their children with a rare opportunity to socialize safely at a time when COVID-19 risks had kept many families cooped up. They also believe that the nursing home has taken adequate precautions against virus transmission in order to protect its vulnerable residents.

這方案在當地取得顯著的成果。這些探訪不僅有助於消除外界對療養院令人沮喪和孤寂的印象，還有助於為住戶提供急需的社交互動來源。

The project has been a huge success with the locals. Not only do the visits help to combat the public image of care homes as being depressing and lonely places, they are therapeutic in giving the residents a much-needed source of social interaction.

Photo: 療養院支付嬰兒尿布和配方奶粉以陪伴老人。(Shutterstock提供)

Infants are paid in diapers and baby formula by nursing homes to stay with the elderly. (Supplied/Shutterstock)

Citation:

In a Japanese Nursing Home, Some Workers Are Babies

https://www.akilligundem.com/in-a-japanese-nursing-home-some-workers-are-babies/