地域および公衆衛生看護学ジャーナル

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Ontogenic Parenting: A Paleoanthropological Approach

Hernan Villalon Urrutia and Mauricio Pinto Cid

There are many parenting styles, however, there could be a model common to every Homo sapiens, allowing understanding behavior and needs of neurodevelopment stimulation in early childhood. An anthropological approach could become very useful. Among main strategies of evolution, Neoteny, allowed births through standing and narrow pelvis leading to immature brains, requiring completing its development in a post-natal environment:"altricial development". This highly dependent newborn, will gradually increase in weight/size/brain until achieving maximal encephalization quotient ever reached in nature. During first years, ontogenic process would replicate those events happening in phylogeny. Tactile, thermal and vestibular-proprioceptive stimuli were essential. Thus, portage using Kapulanas (ancestral slings) would have been decisive. In addition, animal protein, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and brain-sensitive trace elements in diet also had a predominant role. This knowledge and promotion of strategies based on these mechanisms could stimulate neurodevelopment in early stages according to human species requirements.