Where children are part of the care experience – and older people are so much more than ‘recipients’. 

“I’ve had members who couldn’t even get on a bus when we started, and when my son would come over they would be up in the attic getting out old toys, on the ground crawling next to him teaching him how to crawl…” 

– Libby, Rockpool Founder

What’s the idea?

In Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand), an older woman opens her front door to find her home support worker – and their 2-year-old son – arriving for today’s care visit. 

She’s a member of RockPool Collective – a care model that enables parents with young children to provide non-medical, in-home support to older people in their local community – and to bring their babies or young children along for their visits. 

With their little ones in tow, RockPool ‘reps’ act as caring, flexible companions – there to help not only with daily essentials like gardening, cleaning, shopping and cooking, but also with activities that bring colour and joy to their older members’ lives… think getting out and about, pursuing art projects, capturing life stories and photos, walking the dog – even home brewing beer! 

Older ‘members’ receive friendly, flexible support that helps them keep living independently at home, while also enjoying the opportunity to engage with young children – and, at times, offering experience and support to their parents. Meanwhile, reps – who might otherwise be spending much of their day alone at home with their little ones – gain social connection, a sense of purpose, and access to flexible, kid-friendly employment. And let’s not forget the kids – many of whom don’t have grandparents nearby, and who also benefit from time and connection with older people in their community. 

It’s a beautiful model that transforms the care experience from a one-way, professional transaction (a carer looking after an older person) into a dynamic, equal relationship – one where the children, reps and older people all bring something valuable to the exchange – and all benefit from it, in turn.

The outcomes of STEP are subtle but profound. Students who begin unsure or hesitant leave with new confidence, empathy, and a changed view of older people – no longer seeing them as ‘others’, but as rich individuals with humour, insight and stories to share.

“Some of the best visits were actually when [my son] was teething, and he was so grumpy, and I was almost embarrassed about my parenting because I knew he was going to be screaming the whole time. And it was so great, because my member came into her own and was remembering all these recipes for DIY teethers, and she was just helping me – she became like my partner in crime dealing with this teething baby, and we bonded over it.”

– Libby, RockPool Founder

What does it help us imagine?

At Good Flock, we love the RockPool example because it brings to life the three cultural shifts we’re driving for, all through one simple model!  

First, it helps us imagine how we can better value and work with the strengths of all ages. RockPool reps bring the adult skill and physical capacity to help older people with the things they can no longer manage alone. Older people bring their experience – often honed through their own parenting and grandparenting journeys – in caring for young children, and provide a window of respite, acknowledgement and support for parents who are muddling through that early childhood grind. And the kids? They bring curiosity, play, laughter and joy to the room – humanising the exchange, and uplifting their older members. Libby describes how this inspired RockPool’s name:

‘Instead of portraying a system where one group is the ‘helper’ and one is the ‘helped’, we wanted to evoke a sense of rich and dynamic local ecosystems, where creatures thrive symbiotically’.

It’s a reminder of how beautiful it can be when generations are richly connected and mutually supportive, as part of the fabric of our daily life and local communities. 

It’s also a brilliant example of how care can be more effectively shared by communities, beyond family carers and mainstream formal services. At a time when the aged care sector is grappling with substantial workforce shortages – and not generating many real solutions – RockPool is unlocking a whole new pool of caring individuals who can help share the care for an ageing population. And all it takes is a small mindset shift: welcoming children to be part of the experience. Just like that, parents can participate in local care without needing to arrange (and pay for) childcare – and they can do it to the extent that they’re able to, for a chapter of life – without needing to be committed to a long-term aged care career pathway. 

Not only does this help bolster the total caring capacity of our communities, but it brings a wonderful diversity to the offerings available for older members. Because the model engages parents who are on career breaks or parental leave from other professions, there’s a deep pool of different skills and passions available to share. One rep is a qualified landscape designer studying gardening therapy – now supporting an older woman whose garden is her passion, but slowly getting away from her. Others include dieticians, nurses, photographers and artists – each bringing something rich and unique to the lives of the older people they’re matched with. 

It all adds up to a vision of care that feels far more joyful, textured and alive than what many of us are used to seeing from our systems today. And RockPool shows how possible it is. 

Keen to hear more? Watch our interview with Libby here.

What can you do with this?

You don’t need a RockPool operating in your area to apply some of its core ideas.

Start where you are 

• Are you a parent looking after small children at home? Sometimes feeling claustrophobic, tired, or sick of getting out to the same old playground? Why not knock on the door of an older neighbour and invite them over for a cuppa? And as you get to know each other, maybe you can see if there’s anything you and your littlie could visit and help them out with from time to time? 
• If connecting 1:1 feels a bit daunting for you, you might like to try an intergenerational playgroup. These are popping up in communities across Australia, and are brilliant fun. Ask your local Council if there are any in your area, or you could reach out to a few fabulous members of the Good Flock network – Big Little Buddies and Joining Generations.  
• The team at RockPool would love to bring their model to Australia one day (yes please!), and what would really help is some evidence of demand. So if you’d like to see this sort of program running in your area, share your details in this form. If RockPool makes it across the ditch, you’ll be the first to know! 

Take it a step further

• If you’re receiving home care services from an aged care provider, and would like this sort of model to be available to you, let them know. Mainstream services won’t start shifting until there’s demand for different ways – and under the principles of ‘Consumer Directed Care’ (the framework for government-funded aged care in Australia), providers are obligated to do their best to make these things available if you explicitly request them as part of your care package. If they say no… reach out and let us know! We’d love to step in and help.