A new project has been launched to inspire families to read and sing with their premature babies at Royal Stoke University Hospital. As part of our Stoke Reads campaign special story packs will be gifted to parents whose new-borns are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Research shows that talking, singing and reading to premature babies helps the electric pathways in their brain to develop, which supports their speech and language skills in later life. Sharing stories also helps parents to bond with their newborns, particularly if they are unable to hold them.
The story packs will be gifted to families by Stoke-on-Trent library service’s Reading Champions who will visit the ward every month. They’ll talk to parents about the pack, share songs and stories with babies, and suggest more children’s books to for families to enjoy.
By making reading part of their family routine on the ward, it is hoped that parents will to continue to share stories with their children at home.
Read more on the National Literacy Trust website here.
Read more in the Stoke Sentinel here.
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