Parents urged: Read to kids

Did you feed your baby’s brain today?

That’s a question that Plant a Seed…Read and its partner, Read Aloud 15 Minutes, want parents and caregivers everywhere to answer with a resounding, “Yes!”

Plant a Seed…Read is extending its mission by sharing “Let’s Talk: Nourishment,” a series of messages, during the month of October. The campaign encourages parents to seize responsibility for nourishing their children’s brains as well as their bodies. Plant a Seed…Read and the national nonprofit Read Aloud 15 Minutes are united behind the idea that when children everywhere are read aloud to for at least 15 minutes every day, from birth, it will change the face of education in the United States.

“From the moment babies are born, parents devote so much energy to keeping their children well nourished,” said Read Aloud 15 Minutes founder, Candace Kendle. “We want parents to make the connection that babies’ brains are also in need of food: brain food.”

Brain food, Kendle explained, comes in the form of exposure to vocabulary; knowledge-building; and rich interactions with loved ones. Reading aloud checks all of these “nutritional” boxes, she added. “One of the best activities for nourishing a baby’s brain,” she said, “is reading aloud together for at least 15 minutes every day from birth.”

During the month of October, Plant a Seed…Read will join more than 900 other Read Aloud 15 Minutes partners in all 50 states to help spread this important movement by sharing the “Let’s Talk: Nourishment” messages with constituents. As a Read Aloud 15 Minutes partner, Plant a Seed…Read participates in three annual “pulses” centered around the importance of daily reading aloud. The organization aims to share this crucial piece of parenting wisdom with all the families it works with — and change the face of education in the community.

Read Aloud 15 Minutes is a nonprofit organization that is working to make reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care. When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, more children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will be prepared for a productive and meaningful life after school. For more information, visit: http://www.readaloud.org/.

  Plant a Seed…Read is a 2015 United Way of Hill County Funded Partner. People can become involved in the United Way of Hill County 2014 Campaign by sending donations to PO Box 1131, Havre, MT, 59501, or by dropping off donation sat 130 5th Ave., Havre.