Reach Out and Read

There’s no shortage of parenting advice out there.  How much is opinion, and how much is based on research evidence?  Science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer joins us to talk about exactly that: how parents can apply evidence-based tools and techniques to raise kids who will grow up to be, well, not a**holes. Some of it has to do with learning about how kids’ brains work, and some of it has to do with looking in the mirror at our own behavior as adults.

Newborn Intensive Care Units are physically and emotionally daunting for new parents. With many of the typical parenting roles supplanted by medical necessity, parents can be at a loss for how to reconcile this new reality. But there is another way parents can care for their children that’s equally important. Dr. Carmina Erdei, a neonatologist and the medical director of the Growth and Development Unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, joins us to talk about how reading and talking to preemies can help offer parents the chance to reclaim at least some of their role, and foster healthy growth and relationships at the same time.

Reading without words? We generally associate reading with text, but reading *pictures* can offer a rich and delightful opportunity for insight and literacy growth as well. Though often overlooked, wordless picture books are more accessible for pre-verbal and pre-literate children, and they can provide an enhanced interactive reading experience for a wider audience. Caldecott winning author and illustrator David Wiesner—aka ‘the father of the wordless picture book’—joins us to talk about the history, importance, and creative process behind wordless picture books.

As we transition back to school during an ongoing pandemic, we hear a lot about a ‘covid learning slide’, which adds to the stress of a return. But, is that really how we should be framing this? There’s another way to think about all this. Boston Public Schools Principal Julia Bott, and Helen Westmoreland, the Director of Family Engagement at National PTA, join us to share how parents and caregivers can recalibrate their expectations through a focus on nurturing human connections.

Dr. Andrew Garner, a pediatrician and clinical professor, dives deep into the impacts of toxic stress and the importance of relational health. He discusses how recent advances in epigenetics and neuroscience have reshaped our understanding of childhood adversity. Garner emphasizes the need to focus on nurturing relationships to build resilience, urging a broader view of adversity that includes ongoing issues like poverty and racism. He also shares parents' strategies for recognizing and responding to different types of stress, advocating for cross-sector collaboration in promoting health and well-being.

A baby’s brain is forming thousands to millions of neuronal connections per minute, absorbing new information in the first six months. This is the perfect opportunity to start a shared reading routine, right from birth. But are overwhelmed, sleep-deprived parents ready to add one more thing to their plate? Dr. Anna Miller-Fitzwater joins us to talk about Reach Out and Read’s “Back to Birth” program, and how to make reading with infants practical and achievable for new parents.

When parenting, teaching, or caring for kids, there can be a fine line between those with a readily identifiable diagnosis, and those who are just plain “different”. Dr. Perri Klass and Dr. Eileen Costello, co-authors of “Quirky Kids: Understanding and Supporting Your Child With Developmental Differences”, join us to talk about quirky kids, and the joys and challenges they can bring to families.

‘Ole Golly says there is as many ways to live as there are people on the earth’. So says Harriet in “Harriet the Spy”, the brainchild of author Louise Fitzhugh. Today we dive in deeper with one of literature’s most beloved ‘quirky’ kids, with a discussion of how Harriet and Louise broke the mold of children’s literature. Guest host Dr Perri Klass speaks with Leslie Brody, author of the highly acclaimed new biography “Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy”.

Have you heard of book deserts?  Nearly half of our nation’s children live in one: neighborhoods that lack public libraries and bookstores and where more than half of low-income children live in homes where books are an unaffordable or unfamiliar luxury. Dr. Molly Ness, an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Education at Fordham University, and Alvin Irby of Barbershop Books, join us to talk about how to not only alleviate book deserts, but create book ‘oases’ that set children and families up for success.

It’s clear that Reach Out and Read has become a significant part of American pediatrics.  And while operating on such a large scale can generate incredible results, challenges also crop up. We’re going to ‘open up the book’ on our organization with someone who is uniquely positioned to do — Reach Out and Read CEO Brian Gallagher joins us to talk about where the organization is today, where we’re going, and what opportunities and obstacles we might face along the way. And also, a podcast first for us: breaking news!