OLDER people from across Monmouthshire had a visit from some tiny tots on Valentine’s Day.

People at Mardy Park Resource Centre in Abergavenny got a visit from babies and toddlers from the Flying Start project at the Acorn Centre. The children and their parents visited the centre to socialise and engage with older people living with dementia who access day services.

The day of love was an opportunity for people of all ages to have fun together and benefit from shared experiences.

The Tiny Visitors group regularly attend Mardy Park; a community wellbeing hub for health, social care services and community groups which focuses on supporting local people aged 55 and over.

Tiny Visitors is a group made up of parents, babies and toddlers aged between 0-3 years of age who attend Flying Start. Flying Start is a Welsh Government programme to improve the life chances of children aged from one-month-old to three-years-old in targeted areas of Wales.

Beth Watkins, the Flying Start manager, said: “We love bringing our children and parents to Mardy Park. Intergenerational work such as this is so beneficial to the children and the older people. To see the smiles on their faces emphasises that this activity is essential to the wellbeing of all involved.”

Geoff Burrows, the cabinet officer for health and social care said: “It’s magical to watch everyone having fun together, making new memories and benefitting from the shared experience. This is an example of one of many fantastic creative projects within Monmouthshire that takes an intergenerational approach to keeping the community alive and well.”