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Cited by 20Child and Adolescent HealthReading and Literacy DevelopmentLiteracy and Educational Practices

Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice: Technical Report

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Klass, Perri, Mendelsohn, Alan L., Hutton, John S., Dunlap, Marny, Anderson, Ashaunta T., High, Pamela C., Navsaria, Dipesh, COUNCIL ON EARLY CHILDHOOD +27 more·2024·Pediatrics
DOI 10.1542/peds.2024-069091
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Abstract

Early literacy promotion in pediatric primary care supports parents and caregivers in reading with their children from birth, offering counseling in interactive, developmentally appropriate strategies and providing developmentally and culturally appropriate and appealing children’s books. This technical report reviews the evidence that reading with young children supports language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Promoting early literacy in pediatric primary care offers a strengths-based strategy to support families in creating positive childhood experiences, which strengthen early relational health. An increasing body of evidence, reviewed in this report, shows that clinic-based literacy promotion, provided with fidelity to an evidence-based model, has benefits for children, for parents and caregivers, and for pediatric physicians and advanced care providers as well. Reading with young children supports early brain development and the neural “reading network,” and improves school readiness. High-quality literacy promotion is especially essential for children who face disparities and inequities because of social factors, systemic racism, and socioeconomic risk. All families benefit from high-quality and diverse books and from developmentally appropriate guidance supporting interactions around books and stories. Thus, literacy promotion can be a universal primary prevention strategy to strengthen families and support healthy development. Partnerships at community, local, and state levels offer opportunities for integration with other programs, services, and platforms. Literacy promotion in primary care pediatric practice, recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics as an essential component since 2014, has become increasingly common. There are successful models for public funding at federal, state, county, and municipal levels, but sustainable funding, including payment to pediatric physicians and advanced care providers, remains a need so that the benefits of pediatric early literacy promotion and the joys of books and shared reading can truly be offered on a population level.

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  • Research has also examined how digital media interacts with caregiver-child relationships and behaviors, termed early relational health.

    “In addition to quantity and quality, research has also focused on the interplay between digital media and caregiver-child relationships and behaviors (“early relational health”).32,65,66”

    From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [66]

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Authors
Klass, P., Mendelsohn, A. L., Hutton, J. S., Dunlap, M., Anderson, A. T., High, P. C., Navsaria, D., COUNCIL ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, Miller-Fitzwater, A., Roby, E., Navsaria, D., Anyigbo, C. U., Glusman, M., Guevara, J. P., Hashikawa, A. N., Loria, H. M., Miller-Fitzwater, A., Nelson, B. B., Garro, N., Gomez, M., Lieser, D. J., Parlakian, R., Clark, K., Smiley, S., Sells, J., Alderman, S., Bauer, N., Peacock, G., Shriver, A., Takagishi, J., Vanderbilt, D., Garagozlo, K., Gadhia, A., Lee, M., & Recio, L.
Affiliations
  • New York University (US)
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (US)
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Brown University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Pediatrics
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Published
2024-11-25
Volume
154
Issue
6
ISSN
  • 0031-4005 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-4275
DOI
10.1542/peds.2024-069091
OpenAlex
W4402961964
Cited by
20
References
286
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 1
FWCI
11.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PEDIATRICS (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Child and Adolescent Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Education › Literacy and Educational Practices
Keywords
shared reading, pediatric primary care, parent-child reading, children's literature, language development, cognitive development, social-emotional development, school readiness, early brain development, reading network, universal prevention, health disparities, systemic racism, socioeconomic risk, family involvement
MeSH terms
Literacy, Child, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Humans, Pediatrics, Primary Health Care, Reading

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