Your practice

Abstract

How do we as family physicians benefit not only the health outcomes of the children we serve but also their broader development? How can we help position our young patients to succeed as they enter and go through school? And how can we do these things while providing essential family medicine care? I (Dr. Reddy) have been a family physician for 23 years, serving communities in Salinas, Calif. For much of that time, I have integrated literacy promotion efforts in my daily practice that have accomplished both of these goals. Why? The health benefits to young children are clear. Reading aloud to children during infancy supports cognitive development and strengthens parent-child relationships, in addition to profoundly influencing language development through childhood and even long-term literacy. (See “Child literacy facts,” page 21.) But I have found that integrating a reading program that actually gives children books during their visits benefits my work as well. First, a little bit about the program I use: In most communities there are organized efforts to promote children’s literacy. Some work specifically with medical practices. I use Reach Out and Read (ROR), which is among the most well known (http://www.reachoutandread.org/). ROR was founded more than 25 years ago and promotes early literacy and school readiness to young children and their families at almost 5,000 program sites in all 50 states. It trains and encourages practices to advise parents