Building Reading Skills Starts Early
Everyone Can Make A Difference In Early Literacy Efforts
PHOENIX – (March 22, 2011) This month, schools throughout the country are celebrating the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss, and First Things First is taking this opportunity to remind Arizonans that all of us can play a role in getting kids ready to read.
“Studies have shown that reading to kids every day during the critical early years expands their vocabulary, raises IQ and makes them more successful in school,” said First Things First CEO Rhian Evans Allvin. “That’s why First Things First builds a focus on early literacy into virtually all the education and health services we fund for kids five and younger.”
Whether working with hospitals, libraries, child care centers, apartment complexes, and even doctor’s offices, the goal is to make sure parents are getting the message about the importance of daily reading and support in reading more effectively to their young kids.
One of the programs, Reach Out and Read, is showing tremendous success in improving the school readiness of children by getting doctors involved in promoting early literacy.
Reach Out and Read prepares America’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Founded by Boston doctors in 1989, Reach Out and Read trains pediatric providers to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud and provide a developmentally-appropriate book to each child during regular pediatric checkups. In Arizona, Reach Out and Read currently serves a network of 182 clinics, reaching about 22% of the state’s children and distributing 234,000 books to more than 124,000 children and their families each year. Since 2009, First Things First support has allowed Reach Out and Read to expand to 27 new locations, serving 27,300 more Arizona children.
“We help doctors use the books as a developmental tool while also giving tips to parents on how to enjoy reading with their children” explained Lara Yoblonski, MD, MPH, Medical Director for the Reach Out and Read Arizona Coalition.“They observe how the child interacts with the book: is this 6-month-old able to grasp it? Is she able to recognize pictures of other babies? Is a 5-year-old able to identify colors or pick out letters? They use these concepts to see how far along the child is.”
During the checkup, the doctor reminds parents about the tremendous developmental benefits that come with reading to their children. And, after every visit, the child leaves with a book of their own. “That’s very important,” Yoblonski said. “Often, these may be the first children’s books in their homes.”
Dr. Arturo Gonzales, a Scottsdale pediatrician and President of the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has seen how participation in ROR has benefited his young patients.
“By offering Reach Out and Read I can help promote the love of books and assist in preparing my patients for school. However, I never expected it to be so much fun and beneficial to my patients,” Gonzales said. “I give a book to a child and see an instant smile. I hear time and time again from parents how they have a great night time routine, now that they are reading a bedtime story each night.”
A recent study conducted by the Reach Out and Read Arizona Coalition and funded by First Things First to explore parent’s perceptions of Reach Out and Read showed a very positive parent response. Parents hear and value the early literacy advice provided by their child’s pediatrician and they are reading more to their children as a result of participation in the Reach Out and Read program.
FTF has also taken the message about the importance of early literacy to the Web. They recently posted a series of three home videos on YouTube to give parents helpful tips on making their reading time with kids more enjoyable and most effective.
‘When it comes to reading with young kids, there’s no wrong way to do it,” Allvin said. “But, these videos give simple tips on things you can do with infants, toddlers and preschoolers to really maximize that time together.”
“The main point is to read together every day,” she said. “That will ensure that when your child arrives at kindergarten, they are ready to read.”
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About First Things First
First Things First was created in 2006, when Arizona voters – through the Proposition 203 ballot initiative – decided to set aside 80 cents from each pack of cigarettes sold in order to fund the expansion of education and health programs for children 5 years old and younger. Under the terms of the proposition, decisions about how to best use the funds are made on a per‐region basis by 31 councils made up of local leaders. The statewide board – which has final approval of the councils’ recommendations – is responsible for ensuring that the funds are used on programs proven to work at improving outcomes for children. To learn more, visit www.azftf.gov .
About Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based, national nonprofit organization that prepares America’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Reach Out and Read currently serves one-third of the most impoverished children in the U.S. The Reach Out and Read model is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the program has one of the strongest records of research support of any primary care intervention. This year, Reach Out and Read’s 27,000 volunteer doctors and nurse practitioners will provide 6.4 million new books to 3.9 million children at 4,654 healthcare locations in all 50 states. For further information, please visit Reach Out and Read's national website at www.reachoutandread.org or Reach Out and Read Arizona’s website www.roraz.org .