Secluded Childrearing

Secluded childrearing is the old tradition of a childbearing parent temporarily leaving the clan to raise their young child or children by themselves. The parent would rejoin the clan when the offspring was old enough to engage in clan activites by themselves, typically around the age of 13. Some versions of this tradition had the parent returning when they deemed the child could defend themselves, anywhere between the ages of 9 and 20.

Varying per clan, the offspring were expected to be taught many different things before they entered the clan as an "adult." Skills often included basic survival tactics, culture and folklore, and even how to raise a child themselves.

The childspawning parent and other members of the clan were usually not allowed to interact with or assist the childbearing parent nor the offspring.

History

Secluded childrearing began as a safety tactic during early sapience. Saikkots would naturally form groups of hunter-gatherers for various benefits. However, it wasn't rare for adults to kill the offspring of their rivals, an instinct making sure their own offspring have a higher chance of surviving. To avoid such from happening, childbearing parents would leave their groups to raise children by themselves, as their presapience ancestors did.

As saikkots grew more and more intelligent, they overcame the instinctual urge to kill rival offspring. It became safe for children to live in groups again, but secluded childrearing had grown into a time-tried tradition. It wasn't until recent history that this became more obsolete, when entire clans began working together to raise children as a form of building trust and loyalty between members

Participants

The childbearing parent would be the one to leave the group, raising the offspring by themselves. The childspawning parent (i.e. the father) would usually stay with the group, leaving the childbearing parent and their offspring alone.