Welcome to Rockzipfel

Rockzipfel is inspired by Authors who agree to non-coercive child rearing methods, 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 have now moved to the 2nd floor of an old house in Lindenau. It has 7 rooms, 160 square meters, a kitchen and bathroom.

In Rockzipfel, parents can work (freelance/home office), study, learn, surf the internet, be with other 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, 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!

Newspapers have reported about us. People stood in front of our display windows 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!!!

Rockzipfel needs your help.

We need more donations to survive past the first year.

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. Here is one 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 her 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.