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"Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that
last a lifetime."
---American Academy of Pediatrics
This has been an amazing week for media attention to issues that I, and many of my pediatric colleagues, have been focused on for years. It is exciting to have the needs of very young children and their parents front and center on a national stage, at the same time as my professional organization (the American Academy of Pediatrics) and the national non-profit organization I work for (Reach Out and Read) come together in unprecedented levels of collaboration to promote early literacy. We're doing this with each other, and just as importantly, with a much bigger world of people and organizations, both public and private. Collectively we understand the biological (brain science), health, educational, and economic need for the United States to invest effectively in young children.
And by that I mean starting with parents and babies! Preschool matters, absolutely. But the "30 million word gap" between 4-year-old children in low-income vs. more affluent families highlighted almost 20 years ago by Hart and Risley is clearly measurable at 18 months, according to newer research at Stanford. The gap is not new, the gap is not better, and the gap starts very, very early in life. Cognitive differences have been measured as early as 9 months of age. The stark reality is this--the inequities we see based on both economics and race are present in babies. But there is good news--parents who have children's books and learn how to nurture their child's language development will talk and read with their child and outcomes will improve! Reach Out and Read--an evidence-based program delivered by doctors--is a proven strategy that works for families across cultures, especially those most at risk for poor outcomes.
It's also exciting--and vital--to see a more nuanced understanding of child health and development evolving: the primary role of nurturing parent-child relationships to support both healthy social-emotional development and early language and literacy skills. Children are complex little beings. We must not pit "social-emotional" vs "cognitive" or "Birth to 3" vs. "preschool." Child development is a continuous, interactive, and "whole child" process, with parents as the most important influence over time. What parents know about child development and what they do with their children at home, starting from birth, is tremendously influential in setting a positive life trajectory toward all of the outcomes that we must improve--in education, health, and the economy.
Bette Hyde, Director of the Washington State Department of Early Learning, notes, "It's exciting to see renewed national attention on an issue that we have long supported in Washington. Reading with young children is one of the best ways to build brains and relationships with the adults in their life! Reach Out and Read Washington is one of our key strategies for helping spread that message around the state."
Sam Whiting, President and CEO of Thrive by Five Washington, says, "Reading together promotes language development and parent-child bonding. Both are critical to a child's great start in school and life. We've seen the power of Reach Out and Read Washington, and we're big fans. We're thrilled that Too Small to Fail is now a big fan, too."
Reach Out and Read is a public-private partnership that relies on a vast, varied, and voluntary health care delivery system, filled with medical providers who care deeply about the families in their communities. With these partners and others, we can use the evidence and the current momentum to fully leverage partnerships with pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners and the health care system--as part of our early learning system. If we do that, we can assure that Washington becomes a state that supports parents, so that they can nurture their child's development from the earliest days of life. We can vastly reduce inequities when we focus on babies--all it takes is our collective will to do so. Are you ready?
Jill Sells MD and the Reach Out and Read Washington Team
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