Reach Out and Read is an evidence based program where doctors and health professionals "prescribe" reading to children and their families at the well-child checks.

Brain science tells us that the brain grows the most rapidly during the first five years of life. The child’s experiences - good or otherwise - affects how the brain develops. Research also tells us that positive and responsive parenting during the early years creates strong parent-child bonds that encourage healthy brain development.

Reach Out and Read is an evidence based program where doctors and health professionals "prescribe" reading to children and their families at the well-child checks. This allows the child over the course of time to be able to build a library of their own.

Visit Reach Out and Read's website

During the visit the physician will:

Talk

Talk with parents about how important it is to read aloud and engage with their young children.

Demonstrate

Demonstrate how best to look at books and talk about the stories with their infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

Encourage

Encourage them to cuddle up and read together at home and build routines around books.

Give

And then give a new book to the child to take home and keep.

At the end of the program, every child has a home-library of books, each given with the advice to parents that they are their child's first and most important teacher.

Participating Clinics

Testimonial

Dr. Vu, Salem Pediatrics: "Thank you so much for partnering with Salem Pediatric Clinic and providing the monetary funding needed to continue our Reach Out and Read program. With gratitude, I send you hundreds of smiles and squeals that our patients have given us when receiving a book at their check-up."

African American mother reading with her young daughter.

Reach Out and Read