Reach Out and Read’s Post

Transcript

Thank you, Brian. Children in our state are among the first in the country to get free books from a program pushing for inclusivity. And get this, you can take part in the program at your child's next Wellness visit. Joining us in studio from Reach Out and Read is Jessica Mortensen. Jessica, welcome and thank you so much for being here with us today. Thank you so much for having me. Well, let's just jump right into it. What is this program and how did it come about? Yes, absolutely. So, So Reach Out and Read is a program where we partner with children's doctors to include books and guidance. About sharing books together with children starting when they're born through age 5. It's really about the bonds that happen when children and families read together and also great language literacy outcomes. Really what happens in early childhood is the great start for life overall. Right now we're celebrating our 35th anniversary of Reach Out and Read. We have a brand new collection of diverse and inclusive books, 35 of them to celebrate our anniversary. So I see we have some of these books with you here today. And I mean, these just look great. And as a kid, it's so fun. To get a new book, especially if it's handed to you free, it's something special. What other kinds of books are we going to see in these areas? Absolutely. So, you know, when we think about books for children's, we want children to have books that are both mirrors and windows. So mirrors are books that show experiences like yours, like you see your life and your family, and that's really affirming for children. But then windows also are experiences of others. We want all children to have a mix. But since there's lots of different kinds of families, we also need to have lots of different. Kinds of books. Yeah. And these storylines are important for kids to feel togetherness, to feel a part of something. Because it can be scary, right. To be a reader. Yes. And absolutely. And I think, you know, it also can be scary to be at the doctor's office, right. So. So this is a wonderful thing to feel connection. It also really buffers stress for families like that being together on a lap. It's what's really important for for later in life. And I think that this is something really cool to do because I know when I was a kid. I like to read some books, you know, you get older and you kind of like those choose your own adventures and things that are action. But some kids just really one maybe are not introduced to reading. And this is a perfect opportunity to do it because you're at the doctor's office. You're a kind of a powerful place where a professional is there and they can kind of drive home that. How important is it to start these kids early? That's such a great thing. The great thing to point out, yes, we so we want this to begin when kids are born, right? And so that your point about that being at the doctor's office that way parents have the support. Right. None of us, if we read together as babies, we don't remember that, right? So we don't automatically know how to do that as parents. And so that support and that lifting it up is an important topic, like all the other topics about growth and development is a real opportunity. But you're there in person, you have the support, and then you have the doctor checking back in. How did that go? Did you know? And at the next visit, Yeah. And then all of a sudden, you forget that it's a scary thing, maybe going to the doctor. I know little kids associate that when they can kind of get to the edge where they say, oh, am I going to get a shot? What's happening? In this book here, we all play, yes, it's togetherness, right? It's fabulous. Yeah. It's about, you know, everybody plays animals, kids, you know, and really we want books sharing to be fun. It of course has benefits for language and literacy skills and doing well in school, but it also is just fun and that connection piece. And so books like we all play or books about regular activities, those are super important and could see their lives as a parent, as a caregiver, as a grandparent, super important to be able to have access to this. And this is. Kind of a unique award to the parents to be able to like we get to go to the doctor, we'll take our mind off of it. Where can parents, caregivers and such get their hands on this? Absolutely. So what you can do is you can go to our website whichisreachoutandread.org and click on find the site and that will show you the list of where the nearest reach out and read site is so cool and so easy to do. How long will it be available though to families? Reach out and read is will be available indefinitely. And these these new books, these new 35 books, we hope to make them available through our catalog through clinics for for the. Foreseeable future. Ohh, that's great news, Jessica Morton said. Thank you so much from reach out and read What a great program and thanks for being on our show. Appreciate it. Alright.