HOLLAND, Mich — A Michigan program is working to expose children to language and increase literacy as early as birth.
Reach Out and Read, a program of Ready for School, provides books to help families build a personal library with their babies.
"It works by us partnering with pediatricians to provide books at well-child visits for children birth to five years old," explains Amanda Rios, Program Specialist for Reach Out and Read Michigan." "At that age, you would think that... they can't read, you know, they're not understanding what you're saying. But just that, talking with them and connecting with them and building those special moments and creating that found the strong foundation for them."
Lakewood Family Medicine in Holland has partnered with Reach Out and Read Michigan since 2010.
Dr. Beth A. Peter enjoys handing out the books and knows it is a critical time for brain development.
"It is such a time when bonding is such a key thing," she told FOX 17 News. "As children develop, they start to have more skills with their book. Four-month-olds are going to chew on it, they learn about the world through putting everything in their mouth. And by around nine months to a year, they're actually going to be starting to be able to turn those board book pages."
The books are age-appropriate and even come in different languages.
Amy Boileau, who grew up in Japan, is thrilled to receive some of her childhood favorites in Japanese.
She hopes her son will speak the language one day.
"I'm just really thankful for this program. Because, you know, since he was a preemie, it's not like, we can just go to the library, you know, and take him to crowded places and things like that. So, it was really good to have the book given to us... so we could read at home."
Thanks to the program, new parents Alisha and Alex Fauser are already building a library for their one-month-old son Bowie.
"I think it gets his brain working pretty good. His eyes are definitely mobile when he's looking at the books and the pictures, so he loves it," said Alisha. "You get in a book and your mind just wanders, and you're like, oh, that's so cool. And you want that for your kid."
To learn more about Reach Out and Read, or to find a participating office near you, click here.
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