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ERGObaby carrier > Resources > Continuum Concept > Continuum ConceptContinuum Concept
The aim of the Continuum Concept, shaped by Jean Leidloff, is to raise well-integrated children who have strong self-preservation instincts and the ability to peacefully discern and articulate their needs. Leidloff observed the peaceful ways of the children while living with Stone Age Indians in South America, and has enlightened us with an alternative to the Western way of raising children through discipline, doting and parental absence in the guise of child independence. Leidloff advises keeping your child on your body at all times during the infant stages, including sleeping with your children, allowing them to have their own experiences through self-exploration, and not reacting adversely to your child's actions, but instead remaining neutral.
Our story:
When I was pregnant two unrelated friends recommended I read Jean Leidloff's book The Continuum Concept. I was enthralled with the concept and the idea of being able to raise a calm, self-assured, cooperative child. As soon as I read the book I knew that raising my child in-arms, breast feeding on call, and sleeping in a family bed was the way I wanted to usher my child into the world. So many people commented on, as a baby, how calm, happy and quiet our baby was. He never cried because he always had his needs met. Being so close to my baby, I always knew what he needed at any given moment. It made being a new parent fun and easy. A group of parents in our area joined together on a regular basis to discuss, learn and understand more about the 'concept'. The biggest challenge we all seem to have had was figuring out how to adapt the Indian's tribal way of living to our fast-paced, individualistic, industrialized society. My conclusion is, you have to take the parts of this concepts that makes sense to you and weave them into the way of life that you know and with which you are comfortable.
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