Welcome to Rockzipfel

Rockzipfel is an office for parents and children. It’s inspired by Jean Liedloff’s Continuum Concept, by the Attachment Parenting Philosophy and all those pioneers out there who believe in One World for children and parents instead of separate spaces for different ages: kindergartens, schools, offices, elderly homes…

In Leipzig, Germany, the Rockzipfel-Project was established for a short time in Plagwitz, with the help of financial donations and aid in kind from many people. We left after three months due to complaints concerning children being “too loud”. In our (German) blog at the homepage, you’ll find many pictures of our office/place to be, while it was being furnished and how it looked at the end. Even if you don’t speak German, you’ll understand what the pictures show. We now have the opportunity to rent a place in Lindenau which is very promising. We have applied for a grant and are waiting for response at the moment.

In Rockzipfel, parents can work (freelance/home office), study, learn, surf the internet, be with other (unschooling/attachment) parents and children, find friends, read or just spend time and work on their social network. Parents can help each other with “babysitting,” so that they can work (in shifts) or have time for themselves, their hobbies or errands (be it online or not).

Rockzipfel promotes attachment and respectful parenting, Unschooling, and will serve as a platform and place where workshops can take place, like: nursing groups, diaperfree workshops, slings-, wraps- etc. workshops, discussion groups about respectful parenting as well as groups and classes for kids (music, languages, painting…) and so on.

Children can meet other kids, make friends, learn, surf the internet, play, see their parents working, nurse on demand, be diaperfree if they want… they can have working parents but still be with them!

Rockzipfel needs your help.

We need more donations to survive the first months until we are established. After that, the idea is that it is financed by:

  • the grant we applied for
  • donations
  • monthly and daily fees which will be payed only by people who can afford it:
    50 €/monthly – subscription includes access at any time to the facilities
    3 €/day – if you just want to come sometimes

Newspapers have reported about us. People stood in front of our display windows (see pictures in blog) and used to read our seemingly interesting texts about attachment and respectful parenting. Many people are interested in our project and want to come to visit us. We are making a difference!!!

Please help us and donate via PayPal. Any amount helps!

Thanks a lot!

How else can you help?

  • spread the word – tell people about our project and that we need financial help.
  • send us cool stuff – books for our library, interesting links, networks that we can join – and tell us if we can help you with anything from here! We’ll mail you our address!
  • help us refine this text: Please send us corrections for a better English! (and after that is done, please tell us when this line can be deleted because there are no errors left!)

(What does “Rockzipfel” mean???)

In German, we have the Expression: “Am Rockzipfel hängen”. This would look like this. I found the following translation: “to be tied to one’s mother’s apron strings”. Literally, “Rock” means “skirt”, and “Zipfel” meas “corner” or “lappet” – like when you pull on a skirt, what you got in your hands, that’s a “Rockzipfel” – here’s another cute picture.

In English it sounds a bit more negative than in German, though in German it is used negatively too: It’s about children who are “clingy”, who are too shy to leave “mommy’s apron strings” or not independent enough, for example, to just go to kindergarten without crying. The general/traditional consensus is that they “should”, though.

With this name, we’re confidently showing that a “clingy” child has the right to pull at his mother’s Rockzipfel – we’re saying Yes! to all Rockzipfels that children create. We want to show that it is possible to work and be together, and that pushing kids to independence will not necessarily produce autonomous children, but that saying yes! to children’s needs will enhance the chance that they genuinely will.