The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is currently
engaged in literacy promotion as an essential part of pediatric well-child
visits. AAP has engaged in a
number of researches that shows that literacy is an important public health
issue that involves literacy skills, brain development, and parent-child
relationships. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014) Reading statistics in the United States are not the best
they can be when comparing with reading scores of other countries. The Academy is also fully aware of the
competing interests such as electronic media and limits such as parental
awareness.
Although AAP is focused on literacy promotion, American Academy
of Pediatrics (2014) also states:
Promoting literacy with parents of children beginning in
infancy supports the recommendations of the AAP that children younger than 2
years not view electronic media and that older children and youth have no more
than 2 hours daily of media exposure by offering parents a positive alternative
for entertaining young children, for nurturing early relationships, and for
developing healthy bedtime routines. (p. 5)
When families with infants and young children visit the
participating pediatricians, they will hear a discussion and encouragement that
they read to their infants. They
also have partnered with a non-profit organization, Reach Out and Read (ROR)
who is presently actively promoting literacy among underrepresented minorities
such as American Indian, native Hawaiian, and Alaska native populations. They
are also working with military families, libraries, and schools.
One in three American children start Kindergarten without
language skills needed to learn how to read. (AAP, 2014) Reading with infants and younger
children are associated with improved preschool language and literacy
skills. Children at 3 years old
are more talkative than those that were not read to.
We have seen statistics often. Children from families of poverty know and speak fewer words
than those children from well-off families. Sometimes, even well-off families have plenty of books at
home but do not read directly with their children. AAP wants to encourage all families to sit down, read, and
engage in one-to-one conversations.
It has been suggested that a students’ reading skills at third grade is
an indicator of their future academic success.
We studied in this class how this type of conversation with
an adult stimulates brain development. The more fully developed a brain is, the better the adult can
function in the world. Another reason why literacy is important for adults is
when they can read about their own health issues. If they are not literate,
they are unable to read medical information that can save their lives.
Ultimately, every person wants a healthy relationship with
one’s parent. When parents and children are engaged in book reading, it
promotes a healthy relationship where they can both communicate their emotions,
dreams, and expectations. This
communication between parent and child can be extended to family members and
into the community when children become adults and participating as full
members of the American society.
5,000 pediatricians have voluntarily participated in field-testing
and created a set of recommendations for the literacy promotion. They came up
with the following 5 recommendations:
1.
Advising all parents that reading is healthy;
2.
Counseling parents about developmentally
appropriate reading activities;
3.
Providing developmentally and culturally
appropriate books
4.
Providing additional information about
libraries, materials and tookits that could help parents without resources.
5.
Partnering with other child advocacy
organizations to promote literacy.
In support of school readiness, they also promoted with
their patients the following 5Rs:
1.
Reading together as a family
2.
Rhyming, playing, talking, singing, and cuddling
together
3.
Routines and regular times for meals, play, and
sleeping which help children to know what to expect and what is expected from
them.
4.
Rewards for everyday successes;
5.
Relationships that are reciprocal, nurturing,
purposeful, and enduring.
Those are the foundation of a healthy early brain and child
development. (AAP, 2014)
When the reading scores of the United States compare with
the rest of the world, we are not performing up to par. The top seven countries
are in Asia. The top is
technically not a country but a city in China. Shanghai has a mean reading score of 570. The United States ranked 36th
with a mean reading score of 498. (Sedghi et al, 2014)
I had always believed that language and literacy are two of
the important springboards to personal and life accomplishments. In 1997, I was one of the four founders
of an organization that promoted language and literacy. We called it Alliance for Language and
Literacy for Deaf Children (ALL for Deaf Children). We sponsored a monthly book reading at libraries and
bookstores, a quarterly lecture series with professionals, and holiday parties
for all families with Deaf children and with Deaf parents with hearing
children.
Language acquisition, language development, and literacy of
Deaf children are critically important, and yet, those are polarizing issues
between the proponents of spoken English and supporters of American Sign
Language (ASL). I would love to
find ways to make both groups of supporters to collaborate more to benefit the
Deaf and hard of hearing children who deserve to be in the center of the
debate.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2014) Literacy promotion:
An essential component of primary care pediatric practice. PEDIATRICS. 134(2), 1-.6 doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-1384
O’Keefe, L. (2014) Parents who read to their children
nurture more than literary skills. AAP
News. doi:
10.1542/aapnews.20140624-2)
