Growing up can be a hard thing to do, but it can be especially hard once you are much older. Little by little your family and friends all begin to pass away and eventually you feel like you are left all alone.

Ken Pidock is one of these people. The 80-year-old was devastated when his wife Barbara passed away, and little by little he began isolating himself. He described himself as a bit of a hermit.

But thankfully, Ken decided to take part in a bit of a social experiment. A team of experts in the U.K. decided that children can help combat the loneliness that senior citizens often experience.

The experiment aired as a television series called Old People’s Home for 4-Year-Olds and shows what happened when young children were introduced into a senior care home setting.

One of the largest retirement villages in the U.K. opened its doors to children as young as three, and what happened was remarkable. They wanted to know if the generation gap would prevent the participants from forming bonds and relationships.

The participants ranged in age from 3 to 102, but that didn’t stop them from almost immediately forming a bond with each other. Although sometimes the elderly were hesitant to get involved, it didn’t take long before the energy and bubbly personalities of the kids brought them out of their shells.

Experts said the energy levels and spirits of the elderly participants began improving and some of them who hadn’t walked unassisted for a long time were even able to get up and dance and play with the youngsters.

For Ken, it was a little girl named Lily that brought him back to life. The three-year-old tyke was drawn to Ken from the moment she walked in the door. She is an only child and one of the youngest in the group, but it didn’t stop her from going straight to Ken.

Ken and Lily are now best buddies and Lily even invited him over to her house to have tea for her birthday. Ken couldn’t wait to have the opportunity to meet Lily’s parents and thank them for sharing their daughter with him.

He says having Lily around has truly been a blessing for him and he says Barbara would be laughing and smiling seeing him play with all the children.

Check out the video below and be sure to share it with your family and friends. More nursing homes and child cares should consider doing this. It looks like it benefits everyone involved!