Rebecca Dow, a House Representative from New Mexico, emphasized the importance of parents reading aloud with their children to enhance education and social skills. "Parents can strengthen children’s education and social skills by reading aloud together for a few minutes each day," she said on X.
"Some solutions are simple and cost effective," said Dow. "The outcome is up to families- not government. Help your children thrive- read aloud together. Both my kids loved the Narnia series by CS Lewis."
In October 2025, New Mexico intensified its efforts to promote parent-child read-aloud activities through the Public Education Department's "Level Up Reading Challenge." National campaigns such as Read Aloud 15 MINUTES also encouraged families to engage in daily reading. According to Albuquerque Public Schools, which cited the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED), the challenge was reintroduced for the 2024–25 academic year to improve literacy among kindergarten through fifth-grade students and increase family engagement, aligning with scientific approaches to reading. This initiative coincided with statewide literacy programs and local library efforts promoting daily reading habits.
Multiple studies have quantified the benefits associated with daily shared reading. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Reach Out and Read reported that randomized trials demonstrate how literacy promotion can increase parental reading frequency and advance children's language development by approximately three to six months, improving both receptive and expressive language scores. These findings support simple objectives like dedicating 15 minutes a day to reading.
Family reading habits in New Mexico show disparities compared to national trends. The New Mexico Children’s Cabinet reported that in 2022, only 36.1% of families in New Mexico read to their children daily, compared to 39.2% nationally. Furthermore, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2024 indicated that fourth-grade students in New Mexico had an average reading score of 201, below the national average of 214, highlighting the need for consistent read-aloud practices.
Dow represents District 38 in the New Mexico House of Representatives as a Republican. Her tenure includes service from 2016–2022 before returning in 2025. She is a member of several committees including House Appropriations & Finance and Transportation, as well as interim Legislative Council and Legislative Finance committees. Her background as an educator and her policy focus on literacy and family services align with initiatives promoting read-aloud activities.
