Reach Out and Read® Comes to Saint Louis

SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center has become the Saint Louis-area sponsor of Reach Out and Read®, a literacy program that trains doctors and nurses to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud to their children.  The program also provides books to children at their scheduled pediatric check-ups from six months to five years of age with a special focus on children growing up in poverty.

As part of the program, primary care providers (doctors and nurses) are trained to deliver early literacy guidance to parents of children six months to five years of age during each well child visit. This guidance centers on age-appropriate strategies, including: how to enjoy looking at board books and naming pictures with infants, the importance of rhyme and repetition to toddlers, and asking open-ended questions when reading with preschoolers.

During the well child visit, the provider gives the child a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home, building a collection of ten new books in the home before the child goes to kindergarten.

Reach Out and Read® makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric care so children grow up with books and a love of reading, and are better prepared to succeed in school.  By building upon the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, Reach Out and Read® helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children enter school prepared for success in reading. 

To make a donation in support of Reach Out and Read®, please click here.