I remember reading an article about this, I think the original one was in France and was such a success that one was being piloted in the UK. It worked along the lines that the old people were assigned a toddler to play with, read to, eat with etc. Apparently there was a marked improvement in the health of the older residents as well as calmer behaviour from the children. Would love to send my kids to something like this.
Ringing any bells anywhere?