“If you wait, it’s too late”: March Read Aloud Month stresses parents’ vital role
Posted on February 18, 2015
Speaking of Women's Health has joined the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES National Campaign that encourages all parents to know, if you wait to read, it's too late.
Before elementary school. Before kindergarten. Before preschool. Children are learning. Not just learning; they are building the foundations that will support their education for years to come. Science has proved that birth to age 5 is perhaps the most important period of development in a child's life.
From birth to age 5 there is no school like the "School of You," the non-profit will tell parents during March Read Aloud Month.
"Parents and primary caregivers are the people in the best position to grow their baby's brain," says Read Aloud 15 MINUTES Co-Founder and President, Dr. Candace Kendle. "No one else is there, right from birth, like a parent. No one else can, talk, sing, play and read aloud to a child like a parent can. And, of course, no one cares like a parent cares."
Throughout the month of March, Read Aloud 15 MINUTES and its more than 1,200 partners across all 50 states are devoting their messaging to those twin themes: the key window of brain development from birth to age 5, and parents' vital role during that time.
"We strongly believe if parents understood how important their role is as first teacher, and the difference that reading aloud for 15 minutes every day from birth can make, they would absolutely do it," says Co-Founder and Executive Director, Bob Robbins. "When parents understand that talking, playing, singing and reading aloud are not enhancements, but are instead requirements, for their child's development, we will see huge leaps in children's readiness for school and life."
March Read Aloud Month, one of Read Aloud 15 MINUTES' three annual campaign pulses, brings together a diverse coalition of partners - from corporations such as UPS and Home Depot, to educational giants such as SUNY and the University of North Carolina, to hundreds of grassroots groups, such as local school districts, libraries, and day care centers - that collaborate to reach a broad audience of millions of parents and caregivers nationwide.
More information is available as follows:
About Read Aloud
Read Aloud 15 MINUTES is a non-profit organization that is working to make reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care. When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, more children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will be prepared for a productive and meaningful life after school. For more information, visit: http://www.readaloud.org/.