Boston Doctors Offer Rx for Young Minds

The toddler came to Boston Medical Center’s pediatric clinic to have stitches removed from his eye. But instead of kicking and screaming, he was all smiles as he shouted: “Want book, want book!”

Over the last eight years, doctors at the inner-city hospital have prescribed countless medications, innumerable shots and 150,000 children’s books.

The Reach Out and Read program has spread to 80 clinics in 34 states and recently was named by the White House as a model for a national child-development initiative.

In 1989, doctors at the clinic started bringing in books for the children to read while they waited to be examined. Some of the children took the books home.

Now, children as young as 6 months get a new book to keep each time they visit the clinic. By the time a child is in kindergarten, he or she will have been given at least 10 books.

“It’s fun to read, and I like to read a lot,” said Sasha Moreta, 7, who has amassed a small library from her pediatric checkups.

Grants and donations provide the literature, ranging from Dr. Seuss to bilingual tales set in Mexico.

For some of the children, these are the only books they have. The hospital serves a large number of inner-city families, some of whom can’t afford new books. Some parents can’t read English; others can’t read at all.

Dr. Barry Zuckerman, one of the program founders, remembers the first time he gave a book to a young patient. The toddler’s face lit up, and so did her mother’s, he said.

“I said to myself, ‘As a pediatrician, I’m not sure I ever saw big smiles from a lot of children like that.’ ”

The program is based on the belief that literacy is as important a part of a child’s healthy development as immunization and good nutrition, he said.

The doctor writes out a “prescription for reading,” telling the parent how often to read with the child and for how long.

“We try to stimulate a love of reading and encourage the mother and child to spend quality time sharing,” said Dr. Glenn Flores.