Literacy paves way to good health
When you visit the family doctor at a St. Michael’s Hospital clinic with a young child these days, don’t be surprised if you walk away with a new children’s book.
Physicians realize the words your child hears can have a profound effect on her physical well-being. Ninety per cent of brain development happens by the time a child is 5 years old. Now science has shown that reading, talking and singing to your child, in any language, is one of the best things you can do to improve their development.
A few years ago, a landmark study showed children from low-income families heard 30 million fewer words than their higher-income counterparts by age 4. The extra challenges faced by these parents and caregivers may help explain the gap. By Grade 3, the children who had heard more words had bigger vocabularies and higher test scores.
This invisible handicap tends to follow children into adulthood, with nearly half of Canadian adults facing some type of literacy challenge. We know that literacy has both direct and indirect effects on health.
The direct effects are most obvious when people can’t read pill bottles or understand the increasingly complicated instructions they get when discharged from hospital. The indirect effects are even more troubling. Low literacy rates are associated with higher rates of poverty, stress and unhealthy lifestyle practices. Research proves the importance of social factors in the health of our patients. Besides literacy, income, education and employment play a role in people’s health.
Dr. Katie Dorman, a second-year pediatric resident at the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s, recently decided to take action on this crucial front. She convinced me and others to take part in a program called Reach Out and Read. In January, we partnered with the Toronto Public Library, St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation, First Book Canada and the Children’s Book Bank to give free books to infants and toddlers starting at 1 year old.
Now, when young children come for a “well visit,” they receive a new book each year until age 5. It’s encouraging to see a toddler’s face light up as they play with a board book — while doctors talk to parents about reading at home, going to the library and other local literacy programs.
The goal is to build a small library in each child’s home by the time he or she starts kindergarten. Parents are encouraged to read daily to their kids. In the U.S., where the program has run for 26 years, research shows participants score higher on tests and have larger vocabularies.
To bolster your child’s literacy development, all you need is your own voice. Talk to your child. Sing to him. Read her a story every day. Describe what you’re seeing when walking down the street or grocery shopping. It’s never too early or too late to start.
Any librarian can help you pick out an age-appropriate book, but here are some quick tips:
Babies enjoy looking at pictures of faces, and hearing people point to them and talk about what they’re seeing.
Toddlers love handling books and turning pages.
Preschoolers like listening to stories and discussing them.
All kids love rhymes with actions, such as this one: zoom zoom zoom, we’re going to the moon (bounce your child to the sound of the words, then lift them up like they’re blasting off ).
Even if you can’t make it to the library, or there are no books handy, the most important thing is to just talk to your child. It’s one of the best kinds of preventative medicine. Dr. Laurie Green is a lecturer in U of T’s Department of Community and Family Medicine, and a family physician at St. Michael’s Hospital. Doctors’ Notes is a weekly column by members of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. Email doctorsnotes@thestar.ca.