CE: Swati; MOP/606; Total nos of Pages: 6; MOP 606 EDITORIAL Reach Out and Read: evidence based approach to promoting early child development Barry Zuckermana and Aasma Khandekarb aThe Joel and Barbara Alpert Professor and Chair, The Purpose of review Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center and bDivision of This article describes the evidence about why reading aloud to children is important to Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Boston help them develop the language and early reading skills necessary for school readiness. University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Recent findings Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA This information supports the value of Reach Out and Read; physicians advising parents Correspondence to Barry Zuckerman, MD, Boston Medical Center, 771 Albany Street, Dowling 3509 to read aloud. South, Boston, MA 02118, USA Conclusion Tel: +1 617 414 7424; fax: +1 617 414 3833; e-mail:
[email protected] Reach Out and Read should be implemented in health care sites serving low-income children. Current Opinion in Pediatrics 2010, 22:000–000 Keywords child development, primary care prevention, Reach Out and Read Curr Opin Pediatr 22:000–000 ß 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 1040-8703 a fifth grade level, which is inadequate to cope with Introduction everyday demands. Minorities are also overrepresented In the 1980s, clinical observation revealed that many in this group; 39% identified themselves as Hispanic and parents in the primary care clinic at Boston City Hospital 20% identified themselves as Black [2]. However, this is were not reading to their young children and did not have just the tip of the iceberg; an additional 30% of adults children’s books at home.