Generations are game on to teach each other a thing or two
Older and younger generations will be teaching each other a thing or two when they take part in a games session to promote healthy lifestyles.
Students from Shipston High School have been invited to come and show the over 50s from the Shipston area how to use the computer assisted exercise programme Nintendo Wii Fit.
Organised by Warwickshire County Council’s PHILLIS Service, the aim of the games session is to encourage people in their 50s to think about their future health and learn more about what they can do to reduce the chances of losing their independence later in life.
Thanks to the County’s Heritage Education Service, the over 50s will in turn show teenagers some of the games, comics and music that they enjoyed as youngsters including a cup and ball game, solitaire, a dutch doll, Bunty and Human Fly comics and even records by Showaddywaddy and the Bay City Rollers .
The event is being run at the sheltered housing complex Stour Court in Shipston on Tuesday 24 March from 3-5pm, and people of 50 and over are welcome.
Wii Fit is one of the best selling computer games and allows players to use a hand held controller to simulate a sport such as tennis, golf or bowls. The system is widely recognised for its health benefits and the Wii balancing board is currently the subject of a University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian study to find out if it can help prevent older people falling, and a hospital in Leeds is also using the system to help children with physiotherapy.
The activity is part of a pilot scheme being run by PHILLIS, a service provided by Warwickshire County Council, which helps people over 50 to live independently. Other activities which are being run across South Warwickshire include Basic First Aid, Arthritis Awareness and Alternative Health.
Sian Sansum, from Warwickshire County Council’s PHILLIS Service in South Warwickshire, said: “We want to make sure that everyone is reminded that PHILLIS is a service for anyone who is 50 plus and offer them the chance to take part in some true prevention activities, running in different venues in south Warwickshire.
"The event in Shipston is an excellent example of intergenerational work. It will provide people with an opportunity to learn how to use the Nintendo Wii fit, an experience that they will then be able to share with their family, friends and grandchildren.”
In addition to the Wii Fit event in Shipston, there will be an Arthritis and Alternative Health session taking place at Lawrence Mackie House in Wellesbourne from 10am-12pm on Wednesday 25 March.