Tasmania has seen 300 toddlers take part in new literacy-focused health checks in the three months since the program began, with another 500 appointments already booked before the end of the year.
The Child Health and Parenting Service launched the 18-month-old ‘Kids Love to Learn’ assessments in July, adding early reading skills to standard developmental checks.
Health Minister Bridget Archer says the program is focused on “increasing literacy and improving literacy rates by encouraging early literacy development for young people”.
The 60-minute checks are available at 70 community locations statewide and sit between existing assessments at 12 months and two years.
Tasmania already provides checks at two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks, six months, 12 months, two years and four years.
Nursing Director Trudi Steedman at the Child Health and Parenting Service said parents pick up simple reading techniques during the sessions.
“We show them how to read a book, show how we can interact with pictures and we have finger puppets and things like that to be able to interact and show the parents how they can actually really help develop their child’s literacy,” she said.
Child health nurses completed Department of Education training modules to deliver the literacy component.
They can refer children to speech pathologists or paediatricians when concerns arise. Steedman said feedback had been positive.
“They are really enjoying being able to interact with the nurses around how they can actually develop their child’s literacy at home, even before they reach school,” she said.
Parents book directly with their local Child Health and Parenting Service or through regional Child and Family Learning Centres.
