Literacy is crucially important for childhood education. Parents and caregivers can promote literacy by reading to children starting in infancy. Unfortunately, fewer than half of children five years of age and younger are read to daily, and rates are even lower among low-income families.

In a study published online on October 20 in Developmental Disabilities Network Journal, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System researchers, led by Karen Bonuck, Ph.D., surveyed a group of diverse parents to determine their belief in shared reading. The survey sample consisted of 43 parents across three states; 51% percent were Hispanic, and 28% of participants had household incomes under $30,000. Researchers reported that 93% of participants—including those with lower incomes—believed that parents should start reading to their children during their first year of life.

Dr. Bonuck is professor of family and social medicine and of pediatrics at Einstein and co-director of the Rose F. Kennedy University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Einstein-Montefiore.