AAP recommends promoting shared reading as early as birth
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Key takeaways:
- Pediatricians should serve as a model for parents, demonstrating how to make shared reading an interactive activity.
- Multilingual and multicultural books can help families learn about themselves and others.
ORLANDO — In an updated policy statement, the AAP recommended that pediatricians encourage parents and caregivers to read with children beginning at birth.
The policy statement, published during the AAP National Conference & Exhibition, is the pediatric society’s first update to literacy recommendations since 2014, according to a press release. AAP also released a technical report outlining a plethora of new research about how shared reading benefits young children.
Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, explained that shared reading not only helps children develop language skills but also helps children break cycles of poverty and reduces childhood stress. She said that reading multilingual and multicultural books can act as mirrors and windows for families to learn about themselves and others.
Klass serves as national director for Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit organization that works with primary care physicians to encourage shared reading and offer books to families.
“I am not trying to tell you that Reach Out and Read is the exam room answer to everything, even though I, of course, sort of believe that it is,” Klass said in a presentation here. “What I am trying to say is we have all come to understand together so much more about the power of this strategy as we understand the relationships, the environmental stimulation, everything that supports the child’s development so that we see language school readiness and cognitive development.”
According to the policy statement, reading with infants and young children is associated with a broader vocabulary, better language skills when they enter school and fewer problem behaviors. Researchers have found that the earlier parents begin reading aloud to their children, the better their child’s language skills will be by preschool.
The AAP’s recommendations for pediatricians are:
- Encourage shared reading from birth through at least kindergarten.
- Serve as a model for parents to make shared reading an interactive activity with their child.
- Offer developmentally and linguistically appropriate, culturally diverse books during health care visits, and prioritize providing books to children from low-income families.
- Encourage parents to use print books because digital books are not as effective for learning and the AAP recommends limiting screen time among young children.
- Assist parents with low literacy skills in finding books that are engaging for children and approachable for the parent, and refer them to literacy programs if they are interested.
- Display posters and informational products that reinforce the benefits of shared reading.
- Promote books that have diverse cultures, characters and themes.
- Discuss reading aloud during all well-child visits, including virtual visits.
- Advocate for policies that support shared reading and literacy in early childhood.
The report also outlines recommendations for policymakers, like funding programs that improve access to children’s books in health care settings and research about early childhood literacy.
Beyond the cognitive benefits, Klass said shared reading will help parents connect with their children and build safe, stable and nurturing relationships.
“[This] takes us from the message from the very beginning, ‘Your child will love books because they love you,’ to an expanded understanding that your child will love books because you do it together,” Klass said. “Looking at books together will actually build and strengthen your love.”
References:
- American Academy of Pediatrics promotes shared reading starting in infancy as a positive parenting practice with lifelong benefits. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2024/american-academy-of-pediatrics-promotes-shared-reading-starting-in-infancy-as-a-positive-parenting-practice-with-lifelong-benefits. Published Sept. 29, 2024. Accessed Sept. 29, 2024.
- Klass P, et al. Pediatrics. 2024;doi:10.1542/peds.2024-069090.
- Klass P, et al. Peidatrics. 2024;doi:10.1542/peds.2024-069091.
- Reach out and Read. https://reachoutandread.org/. Accessed Sept. 29, 2024.
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Klass P, et al. Abstract P3400. Presented at: AAP National Conference and Exhibition; Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2024; Orlando.
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