Great Start Livingston

10/16/2026

😴 Tired? Plan ahead.

We all know how exhausting caring for a baby can be. Falling asleep while holding baby can be dangerous, so think ahead about what you’ll do when you’re tired.

If you think you might fall asleep:
🛏️ Use a bed instead of a couch or chair, and remove pillows and blankets.
⏰ Set an alarm or timer on your phone.
🤝 Ask someone to keep you company or check on you.

Planning ahead can help you and baby rest easy and stay safer. ❤️

When you build safe sleep into your baby's sleep routine, you can k...

10/16/2026

Such a fun evening at the Brighton District Library’s Boo Bash 🎃👻📚

It was SO busy, and we quickly ran out of books! There’s nothing better than seeing so many families come out to enjoy their library and community ❤️

It was also wonderful to connect with families about Help Me Grow Livingston and share information about our upcoming Little Explorers' S.T.E.A.M. Night at Livingston Educational Service Agency 🧪🎨 And, of course, it was so nice to see some of our amazing community partners too!

A big thank you to the Brighton District Library for hosting such a fun event and to all the families who stopped by. What a great night! 🦇✨

10/15/2026

Those little hands need PLAY long before focusing on academics 💖 For infants, tummy time is key!

✏️ Before children are ready to write their name, there are many important skills they need to develop first! Fine motor skills help children build the strength, coordination, and control they need to use pencils, crayons, scissors, utensils, buttons, and more. Activities like manipulating clay, folding a cloth, tearing paper, and using scissors all help strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers. These everyday experiences give children opportunities to practice grasping, manipulating, coordinating both hands, and controlling their movements.

Instead of focusing on whether a child can write letters yet, give them plenty of opportunities to explore and use their hands in different ways. When children have time to develop these foundational skills through play and everyday activities, they are building the tools they will eventually need for writing. Remember, there is a lot of learning happening in those little hands before the pencil ever reaches the paper! 💛



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10/14/2026

We will be there with books and treats! 🎃

The STEAM Syndicate is hosting a Trunk-or-Treat at The Livingston Educational Service Agency. Put on your costume and come join us for a fun afternoon of music, activities, and CANDY!

10/13/2026

We'd love to see you on Thursday for the Boo Bash at Brighton District Library! Stop by for a book and a treat 😁

Join the library and our thirteen community partners at our very first ever annual BDL Boo Bash! Come costume ready for trick or treating along our Learning Journey & Circle Drive, a guided haunted hike through the nature preserve, spooky stories around a "campfire" in the youth department, and science experiment demonstrations in our Mad Scientists Lab. We'll even have donuts, c***r, and colorable trick or treat bags while supplies last.

Trick or treating will last 6-7:30PM. The guided spooky hike starts at 6:30 PM. & there will be two experiment demonstrations at 6:15 & 6:45 PM.

We'll see you Thursday, October 15!

This program is rain or shine! we will move the trick or treating inside, in the case of rain.

10/13/2026

FREE Diapers will be at the Livingston County Health Department tomorrow from 1-3 p.m. See the post for details!

10/13/2026

There are just a few more spots for this event happening tonight!

Join us for an evening of learning and conversation about PDA and supporting children and teens with a strong need for autonomy!

Understanding PDA: When Traditional Approaches Aren’t Working

Have you ever wondered why your child can spend hours doing something they love, but suddenly cannot brush their teeth, get ready for bed, or leave the house? Maybe they want to go to school, practice, or a friend’s house, but when it’s time to go, they simply can’t. Or maybe they seem fine at school but fall apart, shut down, or explode at home.

PDA, or Pathological Demand Avoidance (also called Pervasive Drive for Autonomy), is a nervous system disability where everyday expectations, loss of autonomy, or feeling like someone else is in charge can be experienced as a threat.

During our time together, we’ll explore:

• What PDA is and what may be happening beneath the behavior
• What PDA can look like in everyday life
• How PDA can overlap with or look different from ADHD, anxiety, OCD, depression, and other diagnoses
• Why traditional parenting and behavioral approaches may not be effective for some children
• Practical ways to support your child or teen differently

Our speaker, Donna Georgen, is a PDA-informed parent coach and educator with extensive training and experience supporting families navigating PDA. She has completed the PDA Society’s college-level PDA Levels Program and advanced training with Casey Ehrlich, Ph.D. Through the At Peace Parents Paradigm Shift Program, Donna has coached hundreds of families and is now part of the At Peace Parents team. She also served as the first Support Group Coordinator for PDA North America.

Donna brings 26 years of lived experience parenting two PDA children, now thriving young adults, alongside her professional training and experience.

This event is for parents, support professionals, service providers, and educators.

📍 The Arc Livingston, 2980 Dorr Road, Brighton
📅 October 13
🕔 5:00 to 6:30 PM
Light dinner provided.

Register for free here! https://givebutter.com/pda-pathological-demand-avoidancepervasive-drive-for-autonomy-learning-opportunity-glm2dx

10/13/2026

We’re so grateful to Making Spirits Bright, a Michigan non-profit dedicated to expanding access to books and fostering a love of reading, for their recent donation of so many amazing books!

While Great Start Livingston’s funding focuses on young children, we often meet older children at community events too. Thanks to this generous donation, we’ll have even more books to share with families and help get great stories into the hands of readers of all ages!

Thank you for helping us spread the joy of reading throughout Livingston County, one book at a time! 📖✨

10/12/2026

What age did your baby start walking?

Check out the post below for some tips to help your child with this exciting milestone 🌟

Baby's First Steps: Getting Ready to Walk

There is something magical about watching your baby pull up on the couch, steady themselves, and realize, “I can stand!” Most babies begin taking their first independent steps around 12–15 months, although there is a wide range of typical development. Before those first steps happen, you may notice your baby pulling up to stand, standing while playing, and eventually standing for a few seconds without holding onto anything.

You can encourage these skills by placing favorite toys on a sturdy, low surface so your baby has a reason to pull up and practice playing while standing. Offering small, safe objects to hold can also encourage your baby to practice balancing while standing, as long as the items are age-appropriate and closely supervised. When those wobbly first steps happen, expect plenty of tumbles because learning to walk takes practice, repetition, and confidence.

When your baby falls, your calm, positive voice can help them feel safe and ready to try again rather than becoming frightened by the experience. Give them opportunities to move freely in a safe, open space and let them practice at their own pace. Every pull-up, wobbly stand, and tiny step is building the strength, balance, coordination, and confidence they need to become a more independent walker.



Image credit: Pathways.org

10/12/2026

It's looking like another great week ahead as we start kicking off Halloween fun! 🖤 Try checking out one of these events this week, or find more fun by scrolling to our community calendar here: https://bit.ly/GSLeventscalendar

We will be at the Boo Bash at Brighton District Library on Thursday with books and treats and would love to see your littles! 🦇