Winthrop-University Hospital's William Bryson-Brockmann, Ph.D., Chief of Behavioral Pediatrics has seen first hand the rewards of parents reading to their children and has set out to bring literacy to his youngest patients through the national initiative. Winthrop Pediatric Asso-ciates, which recently received a $6,000 grant from the national arm of Reach Out and Read, has joined more than 1,000 other sites in the national program that seeks to make early literacy a standard part of pediatric practice across the country.

Volunteer Patricia Regan reads aloud to a group of children in the pediatric waiting room to help promote literacy.

"Reading to children has been shown to help in positive language development," said Dr. Bryson-Brockmann. "Research has proven that children who are read to have better expressive and receptive language skills, and when started at an early development stage, reading often becomes one of a child's favorite activities. This fosters positive reading skills that will benefit them throughout their early developmental years and into adolescence."

The Reach Out and Read program was developed in 1989 by a group of pediatricians and educators from Boston City Hospital to encourage literacy development in pediatric patients and to help parents learn how to make books a part of their children's lives.

At Winthrop, pediatricians discuss the importance of reading with parents and children and give each child a new, developmentally and culturally appropriate book to bring home during each well-child visit. In addition, volunteers read books to small groups of children in the waiting room. "This is the essence of the program," said Dr. Bryson-Brockmann.

Kelly McCarthy, Director, Human Resources at Bookspan's Garden City headquarters (third from left) and David Allender, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Bookspan's Children's Book-Of-The-Month Club (third from right), join in the reading fun as patient, Julie DeMarco reads a book donated by the company with her mom Rosemary (far left). Dr. Bryson-Brockmann (right, with volunteer reader Gordon Wood) initiated the program at Winthrop.

With approximately 10 well-child visits between the ages of six months to five years of age, Dr. Bryson-Brockmann estimates that by the time most children start kindergarten, they will have up to 10 books in their own private collection. He added that, "the program will also help encourage the kids to continue to grow their library of books as they get older."

Area businesses have also recognized the benefit of the program, donating boxes of new books to help sustain the momentum. Bookspan, the largest book club marketer in the nation, headquartered in Garden City, was so impressed with the initiative, the company donated hundreds of new books and one thousand children's backpacks with plans to continue their generous support of the reading program.

"This program will allow us to go beyond traditional pediatric care and echo the national program's sentiment that books are just as important as immunizations," he said. "Plus, this program makes a visit to the doctor more fun for the kids, the parents, and for us."

For more information on Reach Out and Read at Winthrop or for information on how to donate new books and become a volunteer reader, contact Dr. Bryson-Brockmann at (516) 663-4432.