Family Health: Reach out and read event teaches the importance of going to the doctor

Pediatric patients at the Mobile County Health Department's Family Health clinic
listened on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, as staff member Denise Peel read "Nicky
Goes To The Doctor" by Richard Scarry during a Reach Out and Read event.

MOBILE, Ala. -- Dozens of Mobile County Health Department pediatric patients gathered Tuesday morning for a reading event that featured Nicky the rabbit visiting his favorite physician in Richard Scarry’s book “Nicky Goes To The Doctor.”

Denise Peele, a member of MCHD’s human resources department, grinned as she described the ways Nicky’s doctor, a friendly brown rabbit with floppy ears, measured his height, listened to his heart and checked his vision. When she was finished, children took home a copy of the book and a healthy snack of apples, bananas and bottle of water.

 “We want to remind parents and caregivers that reading to children is one of the most important things you can do to foster an early love of learning,” said Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for the Mobile County. “That’s why our pediatric clinics take part in the Reach Out and Read initiative every year.”

Throughout the year, children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years seen at MCHD pediatric clinics receive new books during regular checkups as part of the Reach Out and Read-Alabama initiative. This year, copies of the book will be distributed by pediatric healthcare providers statewide who will also talk to parents about the importance of annual well-child visits.

Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based, national nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. The model includes providing a new, age-appropriate book for each child to take home from every checkup from 6 months through 5 years of age.

Along with the free book for every child, health providers also offer guidance to parents about the importance of reading out loud with their children daily. Research shows that families served by Reach Out and Read do read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills and a six-month developmental edge
.
Nationwide, Reach Out and Read doctors and nurses serve nearly 4 million children and their families annually at 4,688 pediatric practices, hospitals, clinics, and health centers in all 50 states, targeting those centers which serve children at socioeconomic risk. The 67 Reach Out and Read programs in Alabama serve a total of 129,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers annually.

“Scheduled well-child visits help us make sure our youngest patients are developing as they should,” Eichold said. “The book brings that message home in a fun way that even young children can understand.”