Senator James Donovan, who served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee of New York, worked to incorporate reading skills in children of all ages. As a means to achieve this goal, he developed a program called Parents as Reading Partners, or PARP.
The program encourages parents to have short reading sessions with their children every day. By taking turns, the task seems less daunting and discouraging for a child, and also reduces feelings of shyness or embarrassment. Reading together can also open up dialogue about the story, school and the child’s general thoughts, strengthening the bond between children and their parents and opening regular channels of communication.