Adapting to benefit children and parents
Reach Out and Read is not afraid to change with the times. When it began in 1989, there was no guidance for pediatricians on the importance of reading. Mr. Gallagher said that a common question Reach Out and Read received was, “Why not focus on physical health?” The organization was more interested in the shift in pediatric practice overtime.
“We used to advocate starting off kids with books at 6 months old, but we always listen to the research,” Mr. Gallagher said. Now, the organization as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics advocate for beginning at birth. Other publications such as Green Child Magazine and Psychology Today speak of the importance of reading to babies still in the womb. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published an article in 2013 that suggests that third-trimester babies can not only pick up on language patterns but also can identify words first heard in the womb.
“We aren’t afraid to adjust our practice if it will be more effective and beneficial for children,” Mr. Gallagher said, “We follow the research and share the work that we are doing. It’s important to stay as up to date as possible.”
Although the focus is largely on the health of children, the impact on parents is crucial as well. Mr. Gallagher described the books at the center of the mission as “a vehicle for bonding” between parents and their children. “The relationship-building we see between families is truly quite magical,” he said.
“Parents will say it’s a respite in their day,” Dr. Klass said of the daily practice of reading aloud. She recalled a memory of talking to a mother with two rowdy young boys, who would sit down and read to them, immediately calming them down.
“When parents sit down to read to their children they don’t have to make anything up. It’s a script, it’s a prompt. You have this story, a picture to show. And kids get preferences,” she said. “When they pick a book that they want you to read, they get to exercise some control. It’s a satisfying routine for parents. It helps open up the world to your child. And when kids come over and hand a book to you for you to read together, it’s them saying, ‘I like the way you look, sound, and interact with me when we do this together.’”
A study from Ambulatory Pediatrics demonstrated that families working with Reach Out and Read were more likely to report reading aloud at bedtime, to read aloud three or more days per week, to mention reading aloud as a favorite parenting activity, and to own 10 or more children’s books. The American Journal of Diseases for Children, in a 1991 article co-authored by Needleman and Zuckerman, noted that the effects of Reach Out and Read were greater for those families who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In 2015, the Pew Research Center unveiled a report, “Parenting in America” on raising a child in the modern age, the first generation in American history expected, on average, to make less than their parents.
The report stated that “a broad, demographically-based look at the landscape of American families reveals stark parenting divides linked less to philosophies or values and more to economic circumstances and changing family structure.”
As questions of access and privilege loom over the growing world of education, Reach Out and Read is trying to shorten the gap one book at a time. They are hoping, in time, that their model will be able to reach 90% of children in the United States and foster a relationship with reading and protecting children from toxic stress.
“Every time I look at a newborn, I think about the power of relationships,” said Dr. Shriver, the Iowa-based pediatrician. “I think about how much love passes between infants and their parents, and how shared reading is such a powerful way to show our children we love them. I know from my own experiences how good it feels to snuggle every night and read together. Those moments when the world falls away, and it’s just you, your child, and a book are magical.”
“I want every parent and child to have that experience and create those loving memories. I want all children to feel safe, secure, and loved. I want every child to have the opportunity to use books as a mirror to see themselves and as a window to see the world.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.