Reach Out and Read (ROR) makes early literacy a standard part of pediatric care so that children grow up with a love of books and reading. Pediatricians encourage parents to read regularly with their children and distribute free, developmentally and culturally appropriate books to children from six months to five years of age at each well-child checkup. Through this inexpensive, regular intervention, parents learn that reading aloud is the most important thing they can do to ensure that their children enter school ready to learn.
Description
Reach Out and Read (ROR) makes early literacy a standard part of pediatric care so that children grow up with a love of books and reading. Pediatricians encourage parents to read regularly with their children and distribute free, developmentally and culturally appropriate books to children from six months to five years of age at each well-child checkup. Through this inexpensive, regular intervention, parents learn that reading aloud is the most important thing they can do to ensure that their children enter school ready to learn. Each year nearly one million children are born into poverty in this country. Low-income children face multiple obstacles to healthy development, including growing up without books. Potential barriers to book use in low-income families include limited discretionary income, limited access to libraries and bookstores and low parental literacy levels. Research findings point to a dire need for literacy support for families in poverty: · Almost one in four low-income children have fewer than 10 books of any kind their home. · Nearly one in four low-income children are read to fewer than three days per week. Reach Out and Read is a pediatric early literacy promotion intervention supported by a number of studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Research indicates that ROR participants demonstrate higher receptive and expressive language scores compared to similar children who do not participate in ROR. Studies indicate that the ROR model supports children's development of early language and literacy skills that are necessary for reading and school success. By integrating early literacy into standard well-child pediatric visits, pediatricians promote the acquisition of verbal and written language skills in young children, thereby increasing the likelihood of eventual school success.
