Reach Out and Read

For more than a decade, Reach Out and Read has been building strong relationships between parents and medical providers. Both see the importance of helping children develop a love of books and reading and the ability to enter school ready to learn.

In the clinical setting, information about reading is given in a routine way making it as matter-of-fact as giving immunizations. After all, both reading and immunizations are critical to children's health and well-being.

Reach Out and Read takes advantage of regularly scheduled well-child visits to the pediatrician to reach parents of children from 6 months to 5 years old. Here's how it works: As part of the well-child visit, the pediatrician or nurse practitioner gives an age-appropriate book to the child, comments on the child's abilities and counsels the parent on how to use books to support the child's healthy development. By age 5, the child has a home library of books to share with family and friends.

The Reach Out and Read Program is being offered at any of the CHKD primary care practices.

For more information on hosting a book drive or on how to donate new or gently used books, please contact LaVern.Morris@chkd.org.