TRENTON, N.J. – Assemblywoman Aura Dunn recently visited a local pediatrician whose work with a national nonprofit fosters strong family bonds and healthy child brain development.
Dunn saw firsthand the success of the Reach Out and Read program with Rosario Zambrano, MD, owner and president of Pediatrics of Morristown. Her practice provides 700 routine checkups to children ages birth to 5—the target age group of the program—many of whom are on Medicaid or uninsured.
During those visits, Zambrano shares with parents and caregivers the importance of reading, which promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds. The pediatric literacy model championed by the program is the only model endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“Research consistently shows that children who are read to by a loving caregiver have better language skills and are healthier emotionally,” Dunn (R-Morris) said. “I’m proud to support the work of Reach Out and Read and pediatricians like Dr. Zambrano who advocate for daily reading to build those strong bonds and set up children for future success.”
The nonprofit program, started at Boston City Hospital in 1989, helps families make reading a regular part of their routines by incorporating reading aloud into pediatric well visits. Today, the program boasts 6,200 program sites and 36,000 clinicians—Zambrano among them—in all 50 states. More than 7 million books are provided annually.
“Pediatricians have that unmatched access to families during those critical years in children’s brain development, from birth to age three,” Dunn added. “As a passionate advocate for children, women, and families, and as a mother who remembers the joy of reading to my own children, I can’t praise this program enough.”