For parents in the NICU, life can feel overwhelming. Their days are filled with worry, uncertainty and the constant stress of navigating their baby’s medical journey. In a typical birth experience, parents would be at home, reading and talking to their newborn. But in the NICU, parents can be overwhelmed by medical updates, monitors and procedures. Many parents don’t realize that reading to their baby is not only an option, but a powerful one.
Babies can benefit from the comfort of a parent’s voice. Reading aloud is a way to bond, to nurture brain and language development, and to give parents something meaningful they can do in a time when so much feels out of their control.
That’s where the Little Listeners Program comes in. Founded in 2019, Little Listeners was created to encourage parent-child bonding through reading. It also aims to improve literacy awareness and help parents build their own library at home.
This September, to celebrate National Literacy Month and NICU Awareness Month, Little Listeners hosted its annual five-day Read-A-Thon, expanding this year to include our Woodlands NICU campus. The theme, “Blast Off with Reading,” was inspired by a book written by a former NICU mom, The Adventures of Asher of Rocket, which tells the story of her son’s NICU journey through his own eyes.
The event brought families together to share stories, discover new books and escape the constant weight of NICU life. Feedback from parents reinforced the benefits and impact, “During the start of her stay at Texas Children’s, we got to participate in a weeklong Read-A-Thon event where children’s books were delivered to all NICU patients and family’s daily free of charge. It was a way for families to connect to their little ones when things are hard, scary or parents aren’t quite sure how to form a bond. The program was so meaningful to our family.”
Another parent shared, “The event was so amazing. The books were all great. Reading to our baby gave us a chance to take a break and escape the stress and worry. It helped us feel connected to our baby in such a special way.”
Over the five-day event, 1,664 books were placed into the hands of 180 families in the Medical Center, plus 74 books for families in The Woodlands. Every family also received bilingual books, along with bookmarks filled with reading tips. Since its beginning, the program has proudly distributed thousands of books, many made possible through generous donations from former NICU families, community partners and Pi Beta Phi grants.
From books given at admission, to bi-monthly deliveries from our Child Life and Music Therapy teams and books on CPR education that teach safe sleep and infant care, the program encourages and fosters an environment to encourage reading and building a library.
The Read-A-Thon also brought a little fun into the NICU with daily prizes, QR codes for logging reading and awarded a Family Reading Champion.
