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Problem Statement
Cooking is a meaningful interaction between the elderly and children. Cooking and food can bridge the communication gap, forming positive connections. However, children often lack interest and do not want to engage in it.
Secondary Research
In order to increase meaningful interactions between the elderly and children, it is important to define what these meaningful interactions may be.
One way they are able to overcome this communication gap is through cooking and food. Through cooking they are able to share the family recipes or recipes from their culture and this leads to them sharing their stories and experiences of their younger years.
As people get older, their memory and cognition get weaker. Cooking is a good activity for older people to do as it is a sensory experience – it stimulates sight, smell, and touch. It also helps exercise memory as they have to recollect recipes and senses like smell can bring back old memories.
Cooking is a great activity for younger kids as well because it teaches not only an important life skill but also helps develop multitasking, learning how to measure and follow directions, improves coordination, and promotes healthy eating.
One way they are able to overcome this communication gap is through cooking and food. Through cooking they are able to share the family recipes or recipes from their culture and this leads to them sharing their stories and experiences of their younger years.
As people get older, their memory and cognition get weaker. Cooking is a good activity for older people to do as it is a sensory experience – it stimulates sight, smell, and touch. It also helps exercise memory as they have to recollect recipes and senses like smell can bring back old memories.
Cooking is a great activity for younger kids as well because it teaches not only an important life skill but also helps develop multitasking, learning how to measure and follow directions, improves coordination, and promotes healthy eating.
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Primary Research
My focus in the primary research was to find out what kind of activities people prefer to do in their daily lives, their family profile, what interaction gaps they might be experiencing etc.
I talked to a few elderly people as well as a few children below 13 years old. I tried to find people with varying family living situations to try and get a more diverse understanding of grandparent-grandchild dynamics.
Most of the research backed my initial thinking that the product needs to have children as the primary target as they are the ones that need a reason to engage in an activity,
I talked to a few elderly people as well as a few children below 13 years old. I tried to find people with varying family living situations to try and get a more diverse understanding of grandparent-grandchild dynamics.
Most of the research backed my initial thinking that the product needs to have children as the primary target as they are the ones that need a reason to engage in an activity,
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Research Takeaways
I identified 3 main obstacles:
1. The elderly are often not familiar with technology which the younger generation prefer to use more.
2. Kids need something to motivate them to participate in cooking
3. The elderly are often not familiar with technology which the younger generation prefer to use more.
1. The elderly are often not familiar with technology which the younger generation prefer to use more.
2. Kids need something to motivate them to participate in cooking
3. The elderly are often not familiar with technology which the younger generation prefer to use more.
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Ideation
The initial iterations had a more game like approach with pretend play, cards, and board games but I decided on making a real
Final Output
Since children aren’t allowed to play around experiment with food in the kitchen the kit will allow them to do exactly that in a safe and non-wasteful manner. The kit will contain tools that are child friendly and child sized, as well as a guidebook with a set of fun recipes that encourage sensory play.
The tools in this kit are only meant to encourage children to want to engage in cooking through play. All the tools and recipes are only meant to spark imagination and let the children and grandparents explore different things that can be done using them. The tools are all made of teak wood and do not have any dangerous parts. For example, the different shaped indentations may be used as moulds to create different shapes. Below are demonstrations of more suggestions of how the other tools can be used.
The hand illustrated guidebook includes cooking terms children can learn with a visual guide, interesting recipes and text boxes encouraging the users to engage in sensory interaction.
Read the full book hereThe tools in this kit are only meant to encourage children to want to engage in cooking through play. All the tools and recipes are only meant to spark imagination and let the children and grandparents explore different things that can be done using them. The tools are all made of teak wood and do not have any dangerous parts. For example, the different shaped indentations may be used as moulds to create different shapes. Below are demonstrations of more suggestions of how the other tools can be used.
The hand illustrated guidebook includes cooking terms children can learn with a visual guide, interesting recipes and text boxes encouraging the users to engage in sensory interaction.
Takeaways
It was challenging task to try to find a solution to a rapidly growing problem such as that of the elderly. My ideas were constantly challenged which allowed me to look at the problem in different ways. I learnt how to make changes to my ideas and iterate based on feedback received. I realized how helpful moving forward with sketches and making quick paper and Styrofoam mock ups can help visualize ideas better and help me proceed further.