Wisconsin’s Dr. Dipesh Navsaria is featured in this New York Times article about Reach Out and Read, explaining the program that helps pediatricians engage with parents about the importance of reading and interaction with infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics is announcing a policy to encourage parents to read aloud to their children from birth. According to the article, “research shows that many parents do not read to their children as often as researchers and educators think is crucial to the development of pre-literacy skills that help children succeed once they get to school.”
My sense is that reading aloud is important, but the real impact on child development is the lively, positive interaction and talk with young children. Reading aloud is a good springboard to rich language and relationship that is crucial to child development.

Dave Edie