A growing number of Utah pediatricians believe a key part of a healthy childhood includes reading so they've made books part of their routine checkups.
Dozens of clinics and doctors offices in the "Reach Out and Read" program are giving families more than medical advice to ensure their children get a healthy start in life. The well-child checkups begin with a new book, opening up a dialogue between doctor and parent about the importance of reading to a child's development. "Reading is so fundamental to the development of a child that they decided to incorporate the two things together." -Dr. Wendy Hobson-Rohrer
The program helps kids build up a home library with each doctor visit. "He has so many books at home and five or six times a day, he is like, ‘Here, read to me,'" says mom Jessica Word. The books provide a distraction for the less-fun part of the doctor visits. "They don't like being checked, obviously, but when they get the books and stuff it keeps his attention on the book," Word says.
Dr. Wendy Hobson-Rohrer says reading and mental health go hand in hand. Children browse the large book selection at their doctors office while waiting for a checkup. "Reading is so fundamental to the development of a child that they decided to incorporate the two things together," she says. The Reach Out and Read program helps fill exam-room shelves with age-appropriate books. Collectively, these Utah doctors hand out close to 80,000 each year. Doctors also get training on how to advise parents. "Kids are having it modeled to them that reading is important and it does expose them to more vocabulary which then decreases the amount of language delays that we see," says Hobson-Rohrer.
Healthy bodies and healthy minds both get a good start here.
To learn more about the 35 clinics and doctors offices that take part in the Reach Out and Read program, click here.
By Nadine Wimmer
