A book with every check-up

Handing a young child a book and watching what they do with it provides MSU Health Care Pediatrician Dr. Melissa Benbow with valuable insight into their development.

Benbow watches to see whether a baby reaches for the book, or if a toddler eagerly grabs it and asks to read with a parent. Turning pages helps develop fine motor skills, while reading together strengthens social bonds.

Benbow partners with Reach Out and Read, a national nonprofit that incorporates age-appropriate books into pediatric care and encourages families to read aloud together. Her patients, from newborns to age 5, receive a free book to take home after each well-child visit.

Parent Jessica Georgi, of Grand Ledge, said her two boys, 6-year-old Eli and 3-year-old Luke, look forward to exploring the clinic’s bookshelves. She reads with them often and has seen the impact.

“Eli started reading on his own over the summer. He’s very academically advanced and corrects us if we say a word wrong,” Georgi said. “I’m sure early reading had a part in that.”

Her younger son, Luke, immediately runs to the bookshelves during visits.

Benbow said she loves watching her young patients’ eyes light up when they get a book.

“At our Okemos office, about 30% of kids have Medicaid and some don’t have books. Some kids get their first book from us,” she said. “We know that kids who are read to on a daily basis develop much better language skills, which translates into better literacy, improved academics when they enter school and more enjoyment in school and reading.”

Over a recent six-month period, approximately 1,100 books were distributed through Benbow’s clinic. Incorporating reading into routine care is a way for MSU Health Care to promote overall health focusing not just on physical health, but also social, emotional and developmental wellbeing.

“It’s about long-term goals and the success of the child,” Benbow said. “Encouraging family interaction, such as a parent and child reading together is a key part of early childhood development.”

Benbow hopes to continue the program and achieve her vision of expanding it to additional MSU Health Care Pediatrics clinic locations, however, she will need to find additional monies to support it. The program at her Okemos clinic is currently funded by a grant from the Ingham County ISD. That grant expires this year.

This story originally appeared on the MSU Health Care website.