Pediatricians Push For Reading To Children

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - With increased recognition of the importance of brain development in a child's first three years, the American Academy of Pediatrics, representing 62,000 pediatricians nationwide, is announcing a new policy this week asking members to become advocates at each patient visit for reading aloud to children.

Other recommendations have been on keeping kids from TV until 2 and on nursing babies; however, this is a first for the organization on literacy education.

Reading, talking and singing are ways that children increase the number of words heard in their earliest years and it's been documented by research that children from more advantaged families have heard millions more words than low income chidren and that the gaps emerge as early as 18 months.

A New York Times article paraphrases Dr.Dipesh Mavsaria from the University of Wisconsin that...if we get the first 1000 days of life right, we save trouble later and have less remediation.