King’s Daughters Willing Hearts Circle is active in the Brookhaven-Lincoln county community.

From its support of King’s Daughters Medical Center for many years to its support of autism  and the Cuddle Up literacy program, the Willing Hearts Circle supports  the children of our community.

The Literacy Committee of the King’s Daughters Willing Hearts Circle recently donated books to be KDMC LDRP Suites that will be given to the parents of newborns.

“This is a great way to impact literacy in our community. The time spent reading to your newborn not only reinforces learning skills but enhances the bonding and trust between mom and baby. We are so excited to receive this gift,” KDMC LDRP Manager Angie Williamson said.

The early literacy initiative encourages new mothers to start reading to their infants at an early age. Early literacy research states that language, reading and writing skills develop at the same time and developing these skills begins in the first years of life.

 

CUDDLE  

Communication: Engage your infant in conversations by cooing and smiling.

Understanding: Reading and telling stories help your child understand the meaning of new words.

Development: With your sensitive guidance, your baby will learn to manage their feelings and actions.

Development: Establish routines. Help your baby to feel safe, secure and grow self-confidence.

Listening: Your baby loves to hear your voice. This is your baby’s first introduction to sound. This is  critical in language development.

Enjoyment: Reading to and with your children is a wonderful time to share experiences and bonding.

Research has shown children gain significant knowledge of language, reading and writing long before they attend school. Their interactions with the adults in their lives play a major role in building the foundation for development.

Rita Robinson, chairman of the Literacy Committee of the King’s Daughters Willing Hearts Circle stated, “Our purpose for developing  the Cuddle Up program was an effort to encourage parents to spend more time reading and talking to their infants.  The purpose is two-fold, to instill an early love for reading and to aid in language development.”

One of the first families to receive the book from the Cuddle Up program was educators Mike and Rachel Powell and their son James Robert Powell. Mike is a teacher and coach and Rachel is a Speech and Language Pathologist with Brookhaven School District.