La lettura ai bambini in età precoce: analisi del fenomeno ed efficacia del programma “Nati per leggere” nella Regione Puglia

Introduction - Reading to children in an early stage has important implications for child’s cognitive, emotional and social development. There are few studies that investigate the effectiveness of reading aloud to young children.
Objectives - To analyze the parental attitude to reading aloud to young children in the Apulia region and evaluate the effectiveness of “Born to Read” (“Nati per Leggere”, NPL) programme, promoted by the Regional Department of Health.
Materials and methods - 144 paediatricians, trained through specific meetings, gave a questionnaire inspired by the BABAR (Before and After Books and Reading) to parents. The programme included the gift of books suitable for ages between 0-36 months and advice on the importance of reading to children since the first months of life. Two years later the same questionnaire was given to the same parents.
Results - The pre-intervention data collected in the 6 provinces of the Region showed that the attitude to reading aloud to young children was present in only 17% of households in the Apulia Region. The post intervention assessment, carried out two years later, showed that the attitude to reading aloud increased. The results connected to the maternal and paternal education are also interesting. Even the mother’s age at first pregnancy over 18 is associated with a statistically significant attitude to reading aloud.
Conclusion - The “Born to Read” programme seems to have a positive impact on the parents’ attitude to reading aloud to their young children.