The first five months of motherhood were a mixture of wonder and joy for Gold Coast resident Nina Peterson, but also overwhelming loneliness.
She said she struggled without support from her extended family.
“My family live very far away and my partner has got no family left,” Ms Peterson said.
“It takes a village to raise children and it’s sad having to do it on your own.”
So she reached out to her community in Mudgeeraba and was overwhelmed with the response.
“[I] just asked anyone if they wanted to be an adoptive grandma for me and my baby,” Ms Peterson said.
“The world just seems so cold at the moment and having all of those messages of support and all these people reaching out was just a light that there are good people out there still.”
Ms Peterson soon found a match in 61-year-old Christine Arnott, who was yearning for a grandchild and lived in the same suburb.
“I just thought this amazing young mum is brave enough to seek out support, so I’m going to be brave enough and respond,” Ms Arnott said.
“I have an unlimited supply of love to give.”
Ms Arnott has become Nanny Christine to young Millie in the six months since they met.
Parkside strolls and play dates have a weekly spot in the calendar as a chance to share advice and important milestones.
It is a bond Ms Arnott never expected.
“I definitely get a lot more out of it than what I ever give,” she said.
“She brings me so much joy, it’s crazy.
“Even if one of my daughters got pregnant tomorrow, I wouldn’t stop seeing Nina because they’re a part of my world now.”
‘Loneliness pandemic’
Griffith University health services management specialist Anneke Fitzgerald, who has worked in intergenerational practice for more than a decade, said there was a growing need for society to embrace intergenerational relationships.
“We’re actually in the middle of a loneliness pandemic,” Professor Fitzgerald said.
Almost one in three Australians feel lonely, according to the State of the Nation 2023 report by Ending Loneliness Together.
Professor Fitzgerald said she started the not-for-profit Australian Institute of Intergenerational Practice to bring the growing area of research under one roof.
She said intergenerational relationships were “a huge opportunity to actually create a really positive outcome for society at large”.
“The ripple effect of this is amazing,” Professor Fitzgerald said.
“When you put older and younger people together, it’s not just their eyes that light up, but it’s their brain that lights up.”
Professor Fitzgerald, who was involved in the ABC series Old People’s Home for Four Year Olds, said she was excited for what the future held as more communities, schools and individuals embraced the practice.
“This is not just about one young child and one older person,” she said.
“[The Peterson] family was very lucky, but we can actually change the social fabric of Australia by mixing older and younger people in the right way and doing it properly.”
Continued bond
It is something the Petersons can appreciate since Nanny Christine entered their world.
“You see all these people out with their mums or they’re together in the shopping centre or even at doctors’ appointments and it’s just something I really wanted,” Ms Peterson said.
“I’m very happy that I have found that now.”
But it is also a responsibility neither woman takes lightly, urging anyone considering it to do the necessary blue card and security checks.
“You have to be careful,” Ms Peterson said.
“It took a while for me to be able to even put a post up like that, but I’m thankful that I did.”