Making Books Part of a Healthy Childhood

Reach Out and Read South Carolina is part of the nationwide Reach Out and Read organization.

Importance of Reading Outloud

Reading aloud to young children is the single most effective thing parents can do to help prepare their children to succeed in school. Unfortunately, fewer than half of U.S. children ages 5 and under are read to every day, placing them at risk for reading delays and school failure. For state-by-state data on the percentage of children who are read to daily, click here.

Why is reading aloud to young children so important?

Children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule.
Reading aloud to young children is not only one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills; it also builds motivation, curiosity, and memory.
Early language skills, the foundation for reading ability and school readiness, are based primarily on language exposure - resulting from parents and other adults talking to young children.
Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an 8-month-old infant, the greater the size of their child's vocabulary at age 3. The landmark Hart-Risley study on language development documented that children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4.
Books contain many words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently in spoken language. Children's books actually contain 50% more rare words than primetime television or even college students conversations.
The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.
Reading aloud is a proven technique to help children cope during times of stress or tragedy.
Reading difficulty contributes to school failure, which increases the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy - all of which perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency.

Photo Courtesy of Reach Out and Read National Center