continuum concept

The continuum concept is an idea relating to human development proposed by Jean Liedloff in her book The Continuum Concept. According to Liedloff, in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings — especially babies — require the kind of experience to which their species adapted during the long process of their evolution. For infants, these include such experiences as:

• The infant being placed immediately in the mother's arms at birth, and from then on carried constantly in arms or otherwise in contact with someone, usually the mother, and allowed to observe (or nurse, or sleep) while the carrier goes about his or her business — until the infant begins creeping, then crawling on his/her own impulse, usually at six to eight months;
• Co-sleeping in the parents' bed, in constant physical contact, until leaving of their own volition (often about two years);
• Breastfeeding "on cue" — nursing in response to the child's body's signals;
• Having caregivers immediately respond to body signals (squirming, crying, etc.), without judgment, displeasure, or invalidation of the child's needs, yet showing no undue concern nor making the child the constant center of attention;
• Sensing (and fulfilling) elders' expectations that he or she is innately social and cooperative and has strong self-preservation instincts, and that he or she is welcome and worthy.

She suggests that when certain evolutionary expectations are not met as infants and toddlers, compensation for these needs will be sought, by alternate means, throughout life — resulting in many forms of mental and social disorders.

References in pop culture

• The continuum concept was mentioned in jest in the comedy movie Meet the Fockers by Barbra Streisand's character, a free-spirited liberal who mentions it during an argument with a Ferber method-favoring character (Robert De Niro).

External links

• continuum-concept.org

Donate to Wikimedia