Families Are Urged To Read Together

Literacy Group Issues a Challenge

Thirty minutes of daily reading can make a difference in a child's development.

If parents read to their child for half an hour each day from birth to 5, they provide more than 900 hours of learning before the child begins school.

Reading Is Fundamental, a nonprofit children's literacy organization, which has encouraged parents to read with their children for more than 40 years, says it wants families to rediscover the joy of reading.

The group issued a challenge to parents nationwide in April to collectively log 5 million minutes of reading with their children by June 30.

More than 6,300 participants have responded by logging more than 4.7 million minutes with about three weeks left in the second annual Read With Kids Challenge.

"I'm thrilled," said Carol H. Rasco, RIF's president and chief executive. Parents logged more than 3.8 million minutes of reading last year.

Participants who register and log minutes from April through the end of this month are eligible to win a vacation for four to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. First and second runners-up will receive travel gift cards from U.S. Airways for $2,500 and $1,000, respectively.

The number of minutes logged does not increase the chances of winning. A random drawing to determine the winners will take place July 31. Registration is free and must be completed online by June 28 at http://www.rif.org/readwithkids.

Rasco said that the 5 million-minute mark might be passed before the challenge ends and that the minutes logged thus far indicate that participants have developed a routine.

"To spark their interest, you have to start early," she said of children and reading.

This year's challenge features several celebrities, including Baltimore Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis, Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, comedian Jerry Seinfeld and radio personality Russ Parr being honorary team captains.

For Parr, the decision to join "was a no-brainer."

"I was really a late bloomer in reading," said Parr, 53, who read his first book when he was 13. "I knew how I suffered. I felt the need to try and change that."

Parr said reading can increase a person's vocabulary and develop cognitive skills. He credits his wife, Darnell, with developing their children's interest in reading.

"Once they find something of interest, they'll try to find everything about that subject and read until they're exhausted," Parr said. "When you have a group of kids reading the same book, it opens up a conversation. To be able to give [your] own personal review is powerful. It's empowering."

Rasco said that families that read together can forge tighter bonds and that it does not have to end once children start school.

"It's a great gift parents are giving their children," she said. "We're here to motivate kids to get them excited about reading. It takes all of us."