Health & Exercise Forum

Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., and Kelly Scheinman

Authors: Steven Scheinman, MD & Kelly Scheinman

Dr. Scheinman is the president and dean of The Commonwealth Medical College with campuses in Scranton, Sayre, Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre.

Kelly Scheinman is a health care consultant and former hospital administrator. She serves on the boards of United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties and St. Joseph’s Center.

This column is a monthly feature of “Health & Exercise Forum” in association with the students and faculty of The Commonwealth Medical College.

Healthy Holiday Gift Idea…a Book!: Part 1 of 2

A recent study found that reading proficiency at the end of third grade is a benchmark in a child’s educational development and ultimately their health and wellness!

When parents think of their child’s health, they typically focus on things like a healthy diet and on safety measures, such as choosing the right car seats and bike helmets. We all tend to think good health is more dependent upon what’s in the pantry than what is on the book shelf. Mounting evidence tells us this thinking should change. One of the healthiest things adults can do for children is to read aloud to them and encourage them to make regular reading a lifelong habit. In fact, a book is the best gift you can give a child you love this holiday season.

There is persuasive evidence linking higher education levels to better health and even more startling data showing clear connections between early reading and academic achievement. Here are some of the eye-popping conclusions from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

• Obesity among boys and girls 2–19 years of age decreased with increasing education of the head of household.
• Students with higher grades are significantly less likely to have engaged in behaviors such as:
  • Carrying a weapon
  • Smoking cigarettes
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Being sexually active
  • Watching television three or more hours per day
  • Being physically active less than 60 minutes per day
• And the truly terrifying finding: The gap in life expectancy at age 25 between those with less than a high school education and those with a bachelor’s degree or higher education is increasing: On average, 25-year-old men without a high school diploma have a life expectancy 9.3 years less than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher; women without a high school diploma had a life expectancy 8.6 years less than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

There are obviously clear health benefits gained by getting as much education as possible, but how does reading a picture book to a toddler influence whether he or she goes to college? The answer is that academic achievement is like a chain a person begins to assemble at the very dawn of life. Talking and reading to babies and toddlers is one link, it steeps them in words and builds their vocabulary. A rich early vocabulary prepares a child for the next link, pre-school and kindergarten, where they begin to amass the functional tools of reading, like “phonemic awareness” and word recognition. These tools help first and second-grade readers gain fluency. By third grade a vital link appears, one which children must successfully forge, otherwise all subsequent learning suffers.
What happens in third grade? Reading’s focus shifts. Children are no longer “learning to read,” they are reading to learn. Suddenly, success in other subjects increasingly relies on the student’s ability to comprehend the written word. This is a crucial transition and multiple child-health studies confirm that third-grade students who are not reading at grade level are at risk of a particularly grim “snow ball” effect: a failure to keep up academically, which accumulates exponentially through the grades and ultimately “explains differences in graduation and college enrollment rates.”

This seems like a tremendous burden to place on an eight or nine-year-old child. Fortunately, there are effective, proactive things parents, guardians or any concerned adult can do to help:

• Talk constantly to babies and toddlers – their brains are making an astonishing 700 new neural connections every second. Immersing them in language gives them an edge in reading readiness.
• Give books as gifts and enrich those gifts even further by offering to read them aloud.
• Encourage the children in your life to get a library card. It’s free and librarians are an amazing resource, ready to help children discover the rich, imaginative worlds that await them in books.
• Ask your librarian to recommend age-appropriate books.
• Ask your doctor to screen for potential developmental delays that could impact your child’s learning. There are a variety of local resources to aid parents of children with even minor developmental delays. Addressing the problem early ensures the “snow ball” effect does not begin gathering momentum.
• Be sure your child has his or her annual vision exam.
• Limit your child’s “screen” time. That means television, as well as electronic devices.
• Do not place a personal computer or television in a child’s bedroom. Instead, create a reading-friendly space in another room in your home. Keep age-appropriate books on shelves children can reach and keep these shelves appealing and organized.
• Volunteer to read at your local library.
• Host a book drive in your workplace and donate the haul to a daycare center.
• Volunteer to be a mentor.
• Reach out to the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties (UWLWC). UWLWC can connect you to a host of resources focused on helping every child to become a lifelong reader.
• Rethink Healthy Holiday Gifts!

So, if you want to give a healthy gift, but can’t afford an expensive treadmill, elliptical or electronic fitness tracker, GIVE A BOOK…AND HELP A CHILD BECOME HEALTHY ADULT! Visit The Children’s Library of Lackawanna County on Vine Street in Scranton, PA

SOURCE: Reading on Grade Level in Third Grade: How Is It Related to High School Performance and College Enrollment? A Longitudinal Analysis of Third-Grade Students in Chicago in 1996-97 and their Educational Outcomes . A Report to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, University Of Chicago, Joy Lesnick Robert M. Goerge Cheryl Smithgall Julia Gwynne , 2010

NEXT MONDAY – Read Dr. Paul J. Mackarey “Health & Exercise Forum” in the Scranton Times-Tribune. Next Week: Part 2 of Reading for Health!

This article is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. If you have questions related to your medical condition, please contact your family physician. For further inquires related to this topic email: drpmackarey@msn.comPaul J. Mackarey PT, DHSc, OCS is a Doctor in Health Sciences specializing in orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Dr. Mackarey is in private practice and is an associate professor of clinical medicine at The Commonwealth Medical College.