Late 2023, both Leesha’s car and mine got destroyed by a hailstorm. Tennis-ball-sized stones. Bonnet, roof, windshield — the lot.
The reason was embarrassing. Both cars were parked outside. Why outside? Because the garage was full of toys.
By that point we had three kids — Elijah, Noah, and Atarah. The amount of money we’d spent on toys and “educational resources” over four years could probably have funded my early retirement. Instead, most of it was sitting in the garage in various states of broken. Our home could have qualified for a casting call on Hoarders.
When the storm came, the cars were the casualty.
That hailstorm was the moment we asked the question that started Zedek. Not “what toys should we buy next?” — because clearly, buying more stuff wasn’t the answer. The real question was: what actually informs child development? How does a child actually develop? What do they need?
The discovery that changed everything
A few months before the hailstorm, we’d already had another realisation. We’d put Elijah in one of the best pre-primary schools in our area. We did what every parent we knew was doing.
Then we discovered something startling: it is not the responsibility of a school to educate your child. Schools facilitate. Schools enable. But the formation of who this child becomes? That happens at home. Or it doesn’t happen at all.
That single realisation moved the centre of gravity from “find the best school” to “become the best parents.” It made us accountable in a way we’d unconsciously hoped to outsource.
And it raised the next question: if it’s our responsibility, what exactly are we supposed to do?
The research rabbit hole
So Leesha and I went deep. We didn’t Google parenting tips. We went into the academic research.
We studied the Nordic countries’ early childhood systems — Finland, Denmark, Norway — which consistently produce the best developmental outcomes in the world. We dug into the US and UK models. We read the South African frameworks. We went through Harvard Project Zero and the Pedagogy of Play body of research.
We read papers most parents wouldn’t. Most parents shouldn’t need to. But we did — because we couldn’t find a single system that combined the science, the structure, and the faith we needed.
Three pillars kept emerging across every credible research body: physical development, cognitive development, and social-emotional development. Every framework, every country, every study — these three were consistent.
But something was missing. We could feel it. The research explained how a child grows in body, mind, and heart. But it didn’t explain who the child is growing into. It didn’t touch purpose. Identity. Meaning.
Then we saw Luke 2:52.
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
There it was. Four dimensions. Not three. Wisdom maps to cognitive growth. Stature maps to physical development. Favour with man maps to social-emotional connection. And favour with God — that was the missing pillar. Purpose. Spiritual formation. Character. Identity.
The Zedek Tikkun Model is what came out the other side.
Why “Zedek”?
Zedek comes from Melchizedek — “King of Righteousness” in Hebrew. A priest-king who operated outside of the traditional system, appointed by a higher order.
That’s how we see this work. We’re not clinicians. I’m a mechanical engineer. Leesha is a mother with intuition that’s been right more often than my spreadsheets. Together, we built something the traditional system wasn’t offering: a framework that combines the world’s best developmental science with the faith that gives it meaning.
We didn’t build this because we had the credentials. We built it because we had the need. And because no one else was doing the synthesis.
What Zedek is today
Today, the Zedek Tikkun Model tracks 138 milestones across four pillars — Physical, Personal, Potential, Purpose — calibrated to the CDC’s 75th percentile standard. We cover 12 age bands from birth to age 9. We’ve mapped over 250 evidence-based resources.
The web assessment is free. The webinar is free every Thursday at 18:00. The Intentional Parent Masterclass gives you the complete framework and a 90-day plan.
But underneath all of that, the mission is simple: change children’s lives, empower parents, and transform how we approach early childhood development — starting in South Africa, built for the world, on a Christ-centred foundation.
What this means for you
If you’re reading this at 11pm because you’ve been Googling whether your child is okay — I see you. Leesha and I have been there. We’ve been the parents lying in bed wondering if we’re doing enough.
You are doing enough by asking the question. Now let us help you answer it.
Take the free 5-minute assessment →
Register for the free Thursday webinar →
We have only one shot at this. Let’s make it count.
— Alton, father of three. Engineer. Builder of Zedek.