Parenting a young child can be an overwhelming task. This can be even more challenging when you are a single parent, have multiple stressors in your life and/or are struggling to make ends meet financially. The Ionia Intermediate School District has a program that is designed to help support families with very young children who have special risk factors and challenges in their lives. The Begin with Babies program can provide services to families who have children prenatal to age three. A family should be low income and have three or more risk factors to be eligible for the program.

The goal of the program is to: foster positive parenting skills, improve parent/child interactions; promote access to needed community services; develop early literacy skills and improve school readiness. The goals of the program are achieved by providing families with regularly scheduled home visits. On the home visits parents are provided with activities to play with their child that are appropriate for their child's age. Many other universal issues related to parenting such as discipline, toilet training, nutrition is also addressed on the home visits. All children are provided with a developmental screening to assure that they are developing appropriately. Some children in the Begin with Babies program may also be eligible for Early On.

Playgroups are another component of the Begin with Babies program. Playgroups run approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The first portion of the group the parents are together to discuss issues/topics that have been selected by the parents. The last ½ hour of the playgroup, the parents and children come together for a parent-child play activity. Community outings and special speakers are also planned during the year.

All families in the program are assisted with developing their own Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). Families are encouraged to select goals that they want for themselves and their family. The role of the Begin with Babies staff is to support them in meeting their own goals.

If you are pregnant and/or parenting a child, birth to age three and feel you would like the support of the Begin with Babies program please call 1-616-522-1409 for more information.

BWB outing to the park

Playtime at playgroup

A family outing at the zoo

The BWB Program is a Parents as Teachers affilate.