Babies and elderly brought together for a boogie

DANCING babies have been taking over a North Yorkshire care home as part of weekly inter-generational activities.

Boogie Babes sessions are now taking place at Sycamore Hall Care Home, on Kearsley Road, Ripon, involving pre-school children, parents and residents.

The Tuesday afternoon sessions encourage singing, dancing, pom-pom shaking, parachute flapping and bubble popping.

They are designed to build the children’s confidence, social skills and provide a fun way to make new friends.

Nikki Baum, who runs Boogie Babes Harrogate, said: “About two months ago, a friend asked if I would consider running a session at the care home where she works in Harrogate.

“After watching the ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’ on Channel 4, I thought there would be great cross-over benefits for the young children and care home residents to come together for the sessions.

“The Tuesday afternoon session at Sycamore Hall, in Ripon, is the fourth and latest addition and it’s going really well so far.

“We’re always happy to welcome new parents and children so if you’re interested please come along.”

Jill Scaif, activities coordinator at Sycamore Hall Care Home, said: “We saw a post from Nikki on Facebook asking if there were any care homes in Ripon that would be willing to hold a class and we jumped at the opportunity.

“The residents always love it when children visit, as they bring so much energy and joy into the home. They thoroughly enjoy interacting with the children.

“They join in with the dancing, pom-pom shaking and singing. You can see how happy the sessions make them and they talk about it for hours afterwards.”

Any parents with young children interested in taking part in the Boogie Babes sessions at Sycamore Hall Care Home should book their place on www.boogiebabes.biz/. Each session is £5 per child or £8 for siblings.