Reach Out & Read
Make books part of your everyday routine—just like brushing your teeth!
Reach Out & Read
Reach Out and Read gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.
Our impact in Horry county is shown by the number of interactions clinicians have with children ages birth to 5 years and their caregivers where books are provided and most importantly the anticipatory guidance given to parents and caregivers. The impact of simple moments such as reading together, playing, and talking have on their child’s life as it relates to overall health, social-emotional well-being, nutrition, school readiness and development of their brains is significant. In our last 6-month report, sites reported more than 1000 touch points with children from birth to five years old and their families through the Reach Out and Read model. This is down some from pre COVID but slowly building back as parents feel safer in bringing their children in for well visits.
"The children and parents love it and look forward to receiving a book. Many new parents don’t know that you can read to young babies and have started. It opens a nice discussion into what a family’s life is like and helps me get to know them. Reading between parent and child improves their relationship and fosters bonding. Parents share on additional visits they read to their child as we discussed in previous visits. One of my favorite books are the books with different textures on the illustrations, it is so much fun to see their faces as they touch or pet the animal on the page. Reach Out and Read implemented through a recent well visit allowed me to encourage a young father to read daily and how he could impact the child’s development beyond playtime, bath time or being of financial support."
—Providers at Little River Medical Center