Mayor, wife read to newborns at UF Health

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Curry and his wife Molly spent their Tuesday morning reading to newborns at UF Health Jacksonville.

For National Library Week, the couple want to highlight the importance of early learning and literacy. 

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The mayor says as a parent, he knows how tough it can be to fit in time each night to read with your kids. He stressed the long-term impact on your children is worth losing a few extra minutes of sleep each night.

"It's hard. We understand it's hard to read to your kids every night. You've been working all day, dinner has to get made, baths have to be done. By the time it's bedtime, as parents, you're ready to go to bed as well. But taking that time to read to them is going to build their brain and advance them to the next stage where they'll be reading to you," Curry said.

Last July, the mayor teamed up with the city of Jacksonville to launch a book called, "What I Can Be From A to Z."

In the past year, nearly 6,000 of the books have been given to families at UF Health, Baptist Health and St. Vincent's Medical Center.