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Reach Out and Read Program
Read and Grow with Primary Care Associates of Appleton!
All children need strong, positive, and nurturing relationships to grow and develop, and right from birth, babies are listening, looking and learning. These parent/caregiver-child relationships are essential for healthy physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Since 2016, the Family Medicine department at Primary Care Associates of Appleton has proudly participated in the national Reach Out and Read program, encouraging you to read daily with your child to promote early literacy. With this program, you will leave your child's well-baby or well-child pediatric visit with a book and a smile on your face, knowing we care about your child's future. The Reach Out & Read “Beginning at Birth” program supplies books to children younger than six months of age at their pediatric wellness visits, meaning each child will receive an additional four age-appropriate books prior to their 6-month well baby check visit (newborn, 2-week, 2-month, and 4-month visits). The Reach Out and Read program then continues with providing books at each well child visit for ages 6 months through 5 years. If a child completes the entire program, he or she can expect to receive a total of 14 books throughout their first five years of life.
Recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Reach Out and Read builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning in infancy. Parents served by Reach Out and Read are more likely to read to their young children, read to them more often, provide more books in the home, and their children entering kindergarten are better prepared to succeed, with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills. And developing strong literacy skills as a child could lead to better health as they grow: literacy level, not income, is the strongest predictor of health outcomes in adults. PCAA Family Medicine physician, Dr. Amy Servais, is the medical director for the Reach Out and Read program at Primary Care Associates of Appleton. Learn more about our local program at Reach Out and Read Partners-Fox Cities or the national Reach Out and Read program at www.reachoutandread.org.