Reading to Babies & Children at UMC
Reading to Babies: New Baby Books
Reading to infants can be an important part of bonding with parents and extremely important to a child's brain development and learning ability. Because of this, through the New Baby Book Program every new mom leaves UMC with new books and materials to encourage reading, talking and singing to their new babies.
A New Baby Books Bilingual Parent Guide (English and Spanish) with ideas and advice for talking about the books accompany the books. The nursing staff provides important guidance as well.
Through the volunteer office of UMC, the New Baby Book Program provides more than 200 new baby books each month to parents of new babies born at University Medical Center in Tucson.
The program currently is supported by The First Page Literacy Foundation at the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. The bilingual book called, Te amo, sol. Te amo luna - I Love You, Sun, - I Love You Moon as well as Good Night Moon is given to the new moms. The pair of books provides basic reading materials for the first few years of life.
See Babies' Brain Development and Human Interaction
See Baby, Toddler and Preschooler Book Suggestions
Reading to Children: Reach Out and Read
 At each scheduled medical checkup, pediatricians at UMC give a new, age and culturally appropriate book to children aged 6 months to 5 years old. The books are provided through the Reach Out and Read Program. Doctors encourage the parents to read to their children and can use the books to assess the developmental level of the child.
While waiting to see the doctor, UMC volunteers read to children in the waiting room. Since 1998, volunteers have been having fun with reading and demonstrating reading strategies to their parents or caretakers.
See Baby, Toddler and Preschooler Book Suggestions
For more information about these & other volunteer opportunities at UMC, please contact Cynthia Bendele, Manager of Volunteer Services at (520) 694-6706.
For more Reach Out and Read information, see Reach Out and Read Coalition of Southern Arizona.
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