In July, the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health recently challenged pediatric clinicians to improve how we train pediatric residents to address mental health needs of their patients. In proposing competencies requisite for providing mental health in pediatric primary care settings and recommending steps toward achieving them, the AAP is setting forth a noble and important goal!

The competencies reflect "the uniqueness of the primary care clinician's role: building resilience in all children; promoting healthy lifestyles; preventing or mitigating mental health and substance abuse problems; identifying risk factors and emerging mental health problems in children and their families; and partnering with families, schools, agencies, and mental health specialists to plan assessment and care." www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2009-1061  Whew - exhausting to read, let alone think about doing!

We at ROR-MA propose we have already found the solution by maximizing the book we give to children and families! Supporting pre-literacy skills builds resilience in all children. Encouraging parents to read aloud to their child promotes healthy life styles. Watching parents and children as they interact around a book is a perfect opportunity to identify risk factors, possibly preventing or mitigating mental health problems. The mission of Reach Out and Read - to make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so that all children grow up with books and a love of reading - is at its core about partnering with children, families, and community to support maximal child development. So don't despair about yet another policy statement we cannot hope to achieve. Just Do It!