Gayle King and Parental Involvement

Multiple studies have shown that children who are read to have an increase in memory, motivation, and score higher on language skills tests.

Parental and family involvement is a crucial factor in educating our children.

A great example and advocate of continual parental involvement is Gayle King, the host of the Gayle King Radio Show. One of my best friends always tells me how Gayle is continually involved in the lives of "favorite daughter Kirby" and "favorite son Will." From an early age, she was engaged in their cognitive and social development.

While many parents think material items best express their parental love -- the truest form of love is time. Even when Gayle was an anchor at WFSB in Hartford, she still found time to be involved in the early learning development of her daughter and son.

Gayle has also shared the afternoons she spent as a child with her mother, the late Peggy King, and how Mrs. King found time to play "jacks" with her.

We need more advocates of parental involvement like Gayle King.

Regardless of household income, the facts are gruesome:

1. Less than half of American children are read to daily -- regardless of their socioeconomic background.

2. 34 percent of all children entering kindergarten do not have basic language skills like the ability to recognize letters of the alphabet.

As the CEO of Reach Out and Read, which consists of 29,000 doctors and nurses who "prescribe reading" to 4 million children in 4,353 hospitals, I have dedicated my life to early childhood education.

Having been born into the foster care system myself, I personally and professionally know the power of passionate parents and appreciate Gayle King's advocacy. (Gayle, if you are reading this and need a parental involvement call-in expert -- I would love to support your crusade.)

If you are an aunt, mom, grandpa, dad, or brother reading this and you have a little niece, daughter, son, granddaughter or sister -- read Horton Hears a Who or Clifford the Big Red Dog to them.

Watch their fingers point to the pictures and see their ears perk up to the adventures.

Someone once placed a book into your curious tiny hands, now you can place a book into theirs.

Feel free to share some of your favorite childhood memories of reading in the comments section. Maybe tonight we can inspire some parents to read to their daughters and sons.