A program that uses pediatricians to “prescribe” reading aloud with children and provides developmentally appropriate books to families with young children is showing benefits for at-risk Latino children, including those whose parents do not speak English, a new study shows.
Specifically, poor Latino children who come from households where English is not the primary language and who participate in the early-literacy program known as Reach Out and Read from 6 months of age, have average or above-average literacy skills by the end of kindergarten and good home-literacy environments.
The study was published in March in the Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education.