Nivedita Creche PGI Celebrates World Read Aloud Day

BY Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 16^th February:- World Read Aloud day was celebrated in Nivedita Creche, PGI  by the division of social pediatrics , Advanced Pediatrics Center , PGI Chandigarh  Dr Bhavneet Bharti, Professor Social Pediatrics and her team organized the event with the theme “reading stories aloud to kids promotes early literacy ”. She said that reading aloud to the child is rapidly becoming a forgotten art in our urban culture where parents are too busy to read stories to their kids. Time for reading stories has been replaced by screen time. However, reading aloud to children unmasks many hidden mental and intellectual abilities of young kids and carves out positive behavior in them. Reading stories loudly indeed offers a niche window for kids to view the world around them in a creative and constructive way. She also motivated all parents to make the habit of reading aloud to their children as a daily household ritual

Dr Prahbhjot  Malhi Child Psychologist at Advanced Pediatrics Center  provided the tips to the parents to read aloud to their children . She said that many parents do not know that reading aloud to the child is the most important gift that a parent can give to their children. Reading to children begins their journey of reading and unlocks the child’s world of imagination. Reading is known to improve children’s skills of paying attention, focusing, and acquisition of vocabulary.

Dr Bhavneet Bharti said that the research is clear: if children cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade, they face daunting hurdles to success in school and beyond. Third grade marks a pivot point in reading. In fourth grade, students begin encountering a wider variety of texts. By then, able readers have learned to extract and analyze new information and expand their vocabularies by reading. As per the ASER report 2016, nationally, the proportion of children in Std III who are able to read at least Std I level text  is just  42.5% in 2016 in India .

Struggling readers rarely catch up with their peers academically and are four times more likely to drop out of high school, lowering their earning power as adults and possibly costing society in welfare and other supports. 

Dr Bhavneet Bharti said the most important factor to promote literacy is the Parent Factor. Both the quality and the quantity of verbal interaction between parent and child are major factors in developing literacy skills and reading readiness. Diverse vocabulary and sentence formation are among them, as are initiating conversation, prompting response, and listening actively to the child.  

Anandita Bharti , an avid reader herself narrated loudly a story "The Gruffalo " for children of Nivedita Creche. In addition, Dr Sahul Bharti also organized an impromptu story telling session with kids where kids actively participated and guided the content and tenor of the story. Many children also narrated stories on the occasion. 

Lalit Singh Sarari (Retd. Principal, KV) and his wife, Saroj were chief guests on the occasion. He strongly advocated the imperative need of reading aloud to kids at home even before they are enrolled in schools. This indeed will be a key step for enabling kids for better schooling and empowering their minds for good education in schools.