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Martha Edwards, PhD, Director
Bright Beginnings is a theoretically based intervention for families making
the transition to parenthood, consisting of group discussions and parent-child
activities. Developed by Dr. Martha Edwards, it is designed to help parents
promote their children’s social and emotional development and school
readiness through a curriculum that includes a prenatal component for expectant
mothers, a group component for parents with their infant or toddler,
a home visiting component, a father’s component and a sibling component.
Prenatal Component
The prenatal component consists of six sessions of discussion and activities
for expectant mothers. The focus is on developing a bond with their unborn
child and both receiving and providing support to other women in the same
stage of life. The prenatal component may also include couple sessions with
expectant fathers.
The Parent-Child Group Component
The parent-child group component consists of five six-session cycles of groups that
parents attend with their child from two months to 30 months. The sessions are
carefully structured around a theme (e.g., Learning about the world; Learning
to communicate; Playing is learning; Guiding children’s behavior).
The sessions include in-depth discussion about the theme and application of these
ideas to parent-child interactive activities.
Home Visiting Component
Home visits are implemented to reinforce the Bright Beginnings objectives between
cycles and to individualize the program for each family. Home visits take place
during the prenatal component and in between Bright Beginning’s parent-child
group cycles.
Father's Component
The father's component is founded on the importance of father involvement and
effective co-parenting for good child outcomes. Fathers are encouraged to attend
Bright Beginnings sessions with their partners. Depending on availability, a
10-week discussion group is offered for those fathers who wish to explore their
parenting role, beliefs and practices. Another option for father involvement is
multiple couple groups that are offered before and after the birth of the baby to
strengthen the co-parenting relationship and marital satisfaction.
Sibling Component
The sibling component provides a supervised, developmentally appropriate play experience
for preschool-aged children who accompany their parent(s) and younger sibling to Bright
Beginnings. The play experiences are designed to promote social and emotional
development and school readiness. It also provides an opportunity to identify
children who may need a referral to determine eligibility for early intervention
or preschool special education services. This component supports the family focus
of the BB Program.
Bright Beginnings is currently being implemented in two sites:
- The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, Bushwick, Brooklyn, through a
generous grant from the Robin Hood Foundation.
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The United Bronx Parents residential treatment center for mothers in
recovery from substance abuse.
For more information, contact:
Brenda Nikelsberg
212 879-4900, ext 108
bnikelsberg@ackerman.org
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