OPINION: Make books integral part of childhood

As a pediatrician, I value the opportunity to give such a gift every day through the McLeod Pediatric Associates of Florence Reach Out and Read Program. Through this program, we give books to babies and preschoolers at their well-child visits, and I talk to their parents and caregivers about the importance of reading aloud and making books an integral part of their children’s daily routine.

This is a gift all parents can give, yet it is also a necessity.

Today in America, there are more than 11 million children aged 5 and younger who are living in poverty. Millions of these children will arrive at their first day of kindergarten bright, eager, and happy — but with deficits in their reading readiness that leave them underprepared to read and learn along with classmates sitting in the chairs beside them. Sadly, starting one step behind decreases the likelihood that those smiling, eager children will ever catch up. Despite the billions of dollars Americans have invested in reading recovery programs, those children are at increased risk for absenteeism, dropping out, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy.

This is no parent’s dream, and it is every school’s fear.

Books matter. Learning is book-based. Books open up new worlds and foster young imaginations. But the process of learning to read starts long before kindergarten, and the first step is language skills learned in the earliest years-by being read to.

That is why I became one of the 25,000 doctors and nurse practitioners nationwide who incorporate school readiness as an integral component of pediatric care. My colleagues and I have made it our goal to bring Reach Out and Read to all families in the area. Imagine how the gift of reading would enhance the future of the Pee Dee if every family and pediatric provider gave out books to patients ages 6 months through 5 years old, and every parent and caregiver were educated about the incredible importance of reading aloud every day — at bedtime or nap time, while enjoying after-school snacks, or first thing on Saturday morning.

Reach Out and Read works in part because the medical profession has early and unparalleled access to families. Together, through Reach Out and Read, pediatricians and family doctors can help break the cycle of poverty and the waste of our children’s potential by ensuring that every child arrives at school ready to read and ready to learn. And parents can truly give the gift that keeps on giving by reading aloud to their children every day.

Through the generosity of the McLeod Foundation and our partnership with the state and national Reach Out and Read, our office has provided tens of thousands of books at well checkups over the last 10 years. The excitement in the faces of children and sometimes even their parents when that book is given and read is a highlight of my day. A mother shared with me the other day that her daughter doesn’t call me Dr. Whitehead (or any of the other creative variations that I have heard), but “The Book Man.” How wonderful!

Let’s all join together to make school readiness a reality for all children in South Carolina — Support a ROR program in your community today and help celebrate ROR-SC Literacy Week!

— Dr. Weave Whitehead is a pediatrician at McLeod Pediatric Associates of Florence. To learn more about bringing ROR to your practice, go to www.reachoutandreadsc.org.