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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAn innovative program at Texas Children\u2019s Hospita<\/strong>l<\/a> in Houston helps babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and their family members bond over books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founded in 2019, the NICU Little Listeners Program was created to encourage parent-child bonding through reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur main goal is to help normalize the stressful NICU experience by encouraging parents to read to and talk to their babies,\u201d said Dr. Christina W. Wong<\/strong>, a pediatric hospitalist in the Texas Children\u2019s Hospital NICU and founder of Little Listeners. \u201cNo baby is too small or sick to be read to or spoken to, especially by parents and family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Little Listeners Program hosts an annual five-day Read-A-Thon in September to celebrate National Literacy Month, as well as NICU Awareness Month. The theme for this year\u2019s Read-A-Thon, \u201cBlast Off with Reading,\u201d is based on a book written by a former NICU mother, Shawna Keyes. Her book, The Adventures of Asher and Rocket<\/em>, is about her son\u2019s journey in the NICU. The third annual Little Listeners Read-a-Thon is September 16-20, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our main goal is to help normalize the stressful NICU experience by encouraging parents to read to and talk to their babies.<\/p>– Dr. christina W. Wong<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Wong explained how such a simple act\u2014reading to a baby\u2014has so many benefits for both the child and the parent or grandparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn an ideal situation, parents would have been reading and talking to their baby at home. Parents in the NICU often do not realize that they can<\/em> read and talk to their child, most often because they are focused on their treatment plan. Also, parents may not realize just how beneficial it can be to read to their baby,\u201d Wong said. \u201cDuring a time when parents feel completely overwhelmed, reading is not only something that can become a special bonding time with their baby but is a fundamentally important act that will help their baby\u2019s brain, language, and speech development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Babies recognize their parents\u2019 voices over others, so having a parent reading and talking to them is beneficial, Wong said. \u201cConsistent reading has been shown to have positive effects on weight gain and bottle feeds, both of which are very important to our NICU patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through philanthropic donations, the Little Listeners Program provides free bilingual books to NICU families, as well as bookmarks with tips on reading to your child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program is part of the services provided by the Texas Children\u2019s Hospital\u2019s in-house library, which has thousands of books in its collection. The library serves both inpatients and outpatients and their families at the main hospital campus in the Texas Medical Center. Books can be checked out and read by patients, or read on-site by siblings and family members, said Catherine Zdunkewicz<\/strong>, Texas Children\u2019s Hospital\u2019s Library Coordinator. Many books are also given to patients to take home. (The NICU babies are given brand-new books, as these are the safest for them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe motto of the library is \u2018a little something for everyone,\u2019 and when we started it was just children\u2019s books. But as we\u2019ve grown, we have both fiction and nonfiction, we have chapter books for kids, we have story books and board books,\u201d Zdunkewicz said. The hospital library is also a frequent destination for physical, occupational, and speech therapists and their patients. Melman, one of the hospital\u2019s facility dogs, also meets patients there (photo above is of Wong, Zdunkewicz, and Melman at a recent event.). Fully supported by the Houston Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club, the newly renovated main library space is attractive and filled with books, puzzles, games, and DVDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n September is a special time in the NICU, due to the annual Read-A-Thon to benefit Little Listeners. \u201cI love to give books to babies, I love to give books to families,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith the Little Listeners program, we are able to do more than just give books to our patients; we can give these families something to do to engage and bond with their baby. When you see the families reading to the babies, especially during Read-A-Thon, and see just how much extra bonding is going on\u2014it\u2019s wonderful. The moms are reading, the dads are reading, the families are reading, the grandparents are reading. It just makes you feel so good,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are interested in donating to the Little Listeners program, you can do so at www.texaschildrens.org\/support<\/a><\/strong>. Under \u201cGift Designation,\u201d please select \u201cSpecific Department or Program not listed\u201d and type \u201cLittle Listeners Library\u201d in the comment box. This will ensure that the Texas Children\u2019s Hospital philanthropy department deposits your donation into the Little Listeners Library account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More information is available on the Texas Children\u2019s Hospital Libraries’ website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An innovative program at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital in Houston helps babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and their family members bond over books. Founded in 2019, the NICU Little Listeners Program was created to encourage parent-child bonding through … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/tcfb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-Read-A-Thon-resized.jpg\")
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