"Benign" deprivation: Why children need to hear the word "yes" more than the word "no"

Many parents subscribe to this false doctrine. Most parents support the concept of "benign" deprivation as a means to discipline a child. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, most parents need an attitude adjustment on this issue. Children need your "yes" far more often than your "no".

God's Law against "benign" deprivation is spelled out in Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. The key here is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. One thing that hurts a child's feelings perhaps more than anything is telling a child "no" for most every little thing that they ask for. The idea is to give children most everything that they want, and absolutely everything that they need, with much overlap between the two. However, sometimes a parent needs to set a limit for safety's sake, meaning that safety is the only good reason to set a limit. Avoiding offense in children involves only saying "no" for safety's sake, and when you do have to set a limit, back it up with an apology for hurting your child's feelings with your set limits. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan customs of parenting, which were punitive in nature. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

The idea behind offense avoidance in parenting is to say "yes" to your child far more than saying "no" to a child. The key here is to give your child most everything that they want, and absolutely everything that they need. There is much overlap between benign wants and needs in children, meaning if your child wants something, try to make it work somehow. 

Sometimes, you do have to set a limit a child, which should only be the case when children are clearly acting in a danger to themselves or others. Even then, there are nicer ways to put it than an abrupt "no", such as "that won't work", "that isn't possible", or "that can't happen". 

A common place of contention in parenting is in the store. Usually, the child takes something off the shelf, and usually, the parent demands "put that back", and then a power struggle takes place that need not be. In the Early Church, mothers took their children with them them to market. Usually, the child wanted licorice from the candy stand, and every mother then knew to buy the licorice for the child. She asked for the candy paid for it, then handed back to the child for them to enjoy. Children usually don't ask for much, but when they do, they should pretty much always hear your "yes". In most cases, they are asking for a candy bar at the store. You can afford it. 

Some children do ask their parents for things that are clearly expensive, such as a new bicycle. That is when you as the parent start saving their pennies for that one thing that a child wants. Simply tell your child "I can't give that to you now. Wait until I save up enough money". If the child insists on the item with "right now" statements, reassure them of your good intent by giving an informal apology, assuming you didn't lose your cool in setting limits. If you did lose your cool in setting limits, a formal apology is in order. 

The only reason a parent should decline a petitioned request in full is if the request is something dangerous and thus can hurt them. Even then, you should gently break the news to them, and then apologize for hurting their feelings, lest if be officially an offense. Any anger at children was banned in the Early Church, with the Early Christians likening parent anger at children to a viper lashing out at its prey - maybe the child got some warning, but that's about it. The only acceptable reason to get angry as a parent is in the case of a sexually entitled interloper, or else when their child is being abused otherwise.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Expanding child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for tougher laws on the books protecting children from abuse

Most American parents think that the Bible has no concept of child abuse, apart from obeying the law of the land. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents support the present-day child abuse definitions under state and federal law. However, the Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse.

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement consists of a parent who is sorely disappointed when they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing in relation to children just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards a child is parental entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived as offensive or damaging by a child, it was deemed child abuse. See also Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. Child abuse in the Bible, as a legal concept, consists of entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. The key to not abusing your child is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment ultimately was received as prohibiting all forms of offenses inl children as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men. 

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers here to long-term damages, namely childhood trauma. The ancients in the Bible had a concept of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell onto the parents for being too harsh with their child. An atheist was seen then as an abused child, not merely a "lost soul" to be "won over".

The ancients in the Bible even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" in the New Testament is πορνεία  (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual relations or advances outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage being equal in nature. A groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Any sexual relations or advances towards a child, including any intergenerational marriage, was banned in the Early Church. Also prohibited was any pornography on the possession of an adult. Most child sexual abuse came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual targets. Fathers usually spent away their parent attractions towards children by way of righteous masturbation, meaning masturbation without pornography for health reasons. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning next to non-existent. When it did happen, it was a huge moral outrage in the community. Sexual attraction to children was on the surface level in biblical times, meaning the joke level, with the abuse showing by the attempts of the abuser to hide their attractions towards child victims.

It is a myth that the Early Christians were well-integrated into Greco-Roman society. The Early Christians instead lived in enclaves in major cities, policed into ghettos by the Roman authorities, shunning the outside Greco-Roman world, as well as shunning the world at large. The 1st Century Christians had their own music and cuisine, and even their own sectarian courts.

Child abuse in the Early Church was prosecuted by way of internal church investigation. This investigation started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were summoned to appear before the council of 3 elders who presided over the internal investigation. If the parents at all got defensive in open court, they were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God for their entitlement alone. Also excommunicated were any witnesses testifying on behalf of parents.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with Judaism as a whole prohibiting any punishment or force in parenting. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon issued an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes as a sentence for a crime. It just so happens that these attachment parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, this knowledge about proper parenting was known only to the Jewish world. Around this time, pro-spanking pastors constructed the Revised context that serves to scare men in particular from exploring the Hebraic context of the Bible, as there is nowhere in the Hebraic condoning the sexual abuse of a child.

The Bible is America's book. America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes, under the English common law, are rooted in the Bible. However, the legal defense of "reasonable chastisement" is rooted in dated biblical teaching. It is about time that we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense, and redefine child abuse under state and federal law as prohibiting anything perceived by the child victim as abuse. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torrents, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Test

This is just a test.

"Biblical spanking": Why the rod verses in the book of Proverbs are repealed verses

Many parents spank their child when they are misbehaving. Most parents believe that the Bible endorses or even commands spanking. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, most parents need an attitude adjustment in this regard. The Bible does not endorse punitive measures imposed on children at all. Instead, the Bible prohibits punitive parenting in all of its forms.

The phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" is nowhere found in the Bible. However, 5 verses in the Bible are commonly cited as rod verses that endorse or even command spanking. One commonly cited rod verse is Proverbs 13:24 KJV:

He who spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

The Hebrew root word translated "son" is ben and refers here to a mature adult son. The Hebrew root word translated "rod" is shebet, and refers to, in the context of the book of Proverbs, the rod of correction, namely a switch. This passage ultimately refers to the 40 minus 1 lashes, administered to the bare back of the errant son, within the context of a courtroom, as a sentence for a crime. Striking a fellow adult Jew outside of the context of a courtroom was considered physical battery, with striking a minor Jew being prohibited regardless of the crime, with children then being immune from prosecution. The reason for this commandment was that, otherwise, Jewish parents would have shielded their adult sons from guilt. The 40 minus 1 lashes was a final warning before an errant son was executed. 

Christ died and Rose on the Third Day so that we would be free from the harsh punishments of the Old Testament. Christ repealed the verses depicting the rod by enduring corporal punishment unjustly before being nailed to the cross. In the Early Church, corporal punishment was never used as a form of church discipline. The Early Christians instead shunned Roman flogging and executions.

The teaching of "biblical spanking" is a man-made teaching. The Bible nowhere legitimately condones the corporal punishment of children. The rod verses in Proverbs are nowhere repeated in the New Testament, with Heb. 12:5-6 instead referring to trials and tribulations sent by God the way of the believer. However, the Bible does touch on the spanking issue, and then some. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking your child. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing your child altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately was received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting any offenses in children as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

All 88 of the books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with most Jews throughout history being anti-spanking. All of these biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals advocating attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs referring to a form of judicial corporal punishment that does not apply today. The rod verses in Proverbs are repealed verses, meaning they were only binding on the Jewish people then.

The Hebraic understanding of attachment parenting is new to the Christian world. The attachment parenting manuals in the Bible were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, this knowledge was only known to the Jewish world. Around the time that these parenting manuals came about, pastors and priests coined a false context known as the Revised context, with the intent to scare men in particular from learning about the Hebraic context of the Bible. The Hebraic context of the Bible does not endorse intergenerational marriages of any kind, with marriages then needing to be equal in nature, meaning the bride had to be the same age as the groom or up to 4 years older than the groom. Mary was 14 when she married Joseph, but Joseph was 13 at the time of the marriage. There is nothing to be feared of the Hebraic context of the Bible. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

"Biblical spanking": Why the rod verses in Proverbs are repealed verses

Many parents spank their child when they are misbehaving. Most parents believe that the Bible endorses or even commands spanking. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, most parents need an attitude adjustment in this regard. The Bible does not endorse punitive measures imposed on children at all. Instead, the Bible prohibits punitive parenting in all of its forms.

The phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" is nowhere found in the Bible. However, 5 verses in the Bible are commonly cited as rod verses that endorse or even command spanking. One commonly cited rod verse is Proverbs 13:24 KJV:

He who spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

The Hebrew root word translated "son" is ben and refers here to a mature adult son. The Hebrew root word translated "rod" is shebet, and refers to, in the context of the book of Proverbs, the rod of correction, namely a switch. This passage ultimately refers to the 40 minus 1 lashes, administered to the bare back of the errant son, within the context of a courtroom, as a sentence for a crime. Striking a fellow adult Jew outside of the context of a courtroom was considered physical battery, with striking a minor Jew being prohibited regardless of the crime, with children then being immune from prosecution. The reason for this commandment was that, otherwise, Jewish parents would have shielded their adult sons from guilt. The 40 minus 1 lashes was a final warning before an errant son was executed. 

Christ died and Rose on the Third Day so that we would be free from the harsh punishments of the Old Testament. Christ repealed the verses depicting the rod by enduring corporal punishment unjustly before being nailed to the cross. In the Early Church, corporal punishment was never used as a form of church discipline. The Early Christians instead shunned Roman flogging and executions.

The teaching of "biblical spanking" is a man-made teaching. The Bible nowhere legitimately condones the corporal punishment of children. The rod verses in Proverbs are nowhere repeated in the New Testament, with Heb. 12:5-6 instead referring to trials and tribulations sent by God the way of the believer. However, the Bible does touch on the spanking issue, and then some. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking your child. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing your child altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus ,in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately was received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting any offenses in children as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

All 88 of the books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with most Jews throughout history being anti-spanking. All of these biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals advocating attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs referring to a form of judicial corporal punishment that does not apply today. The rod verses in Proverbs are repealed verses, meaning they were only binding on the Jewish people then.

The Hebraic understanding of attachment parenting is new to the Christian world. The attachment parenting manuals in the Bible were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, this knowledge was only known to the Jewish world. Around the time that these parenting manuals came about, pastors and priests coined a false context known as the Revised context, with the intent to scare men in particular from learning about the Hebraic context of the Bible. The Hebraic context of the Bible does not endorse intergenerational marriages of any kind, with marriages then needing to be equal in nature, meaning the bride had to be the same age as the groom or up to 4 years older than the groom. Mary was 14 when she married Joseph, but Joseph was 13 at the time of the marriage. There is nothing to be feared of the Hebraic context of the Bible. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Hebrews 12:5-6: Why this passage is not a pro-spanking passage

Many parents think that the Bible endorses or even commands parents to spank or punish their children. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents cite a few verses in Proverbs and a passage in Hebrews as their "proof" that spanking is biblical. However, Heb. 12:5-6 does not refer to earthly parents spanking a child, but instead refers to enduring hardship.

God's Word on trials and tribulations is spelled out in Hebrews 12:5-6 KJV:

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

This passage, when understood correctly, is comforting to me. The Greek root word translated "scourgeth" is μαστιγόω (Latin: mastigoó) and can have a figurative meaning to it, as is the case here. This form of metaphor is called "rod language". When a Christian then got home from a long day at work, he instead said "God whipped me hard today". God does not literally reach down from the Heavens and whip His children. However, God does punish His children, as only He can, sending trials and tribulations the way of the believer. However, God only punishes His children when it does not harm them, whereas earthly parents only punish their children when it does, in fact, harm them. This passage was intended as comfort for the Hebrew Christians in their persecution from Rome.

The teaching of "biblical spanking" is a man-made teaching. The Bible does not legitimately endorse or command force in parenting, as God does not want earthly parents to use His Parenting methods, lest they get it wrong. However, the Bible does touch on the spanking issue, and then some. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. 

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking your child. However, it is not enough to simply stop spanking your child, or else stop punishing your child altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, when you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards children alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translated to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions onto children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment ultimately was received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting all offenses in child as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

The staple punishment in the broader Greco-Roman world was spanking a child on the bare bottom with an open hand. However, the Early Christians shunned such parenting as of this world, and saw it as pagan in nature. Pro-spanking parents then were treated as church infiltrators, with this infiltrators even citing Proverbs as their "proof" that spanking was biblical. 

It is a myth that the Early Christians were well-integrated into Rome. Instead, the Early Christians lived in urban enclaves, shunning the outside world, with the Christians then being policed into ghettos in major Greco-Roman cities. The Early Christians were piss poor, but still managed to please the petitioned wants of their child.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Childhood bipolar disorder: How to discipline your bipolar child

Quite a few parents struggle with this. Hearing the news that their child has bipolar disorder. Most such parents watch in horror as their child is completely out of control. This happens often, and parents are told that there is no way to discipline such a child without medication. However, there is a way to discipline your bipolar child before being stabilized, but only without punishment.

God's Law on childhood discipline is spelled out in Ephesians 6:4 KJV:

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

This first stanza of this commandment clarifies for the second not to use punitive measures on a bipolar child. The Greek root word translated "provoke...to wrath" is παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking your bipolar child. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your bipolar child, or even stop punishing them altogether for that reason. You need to avoid offense in your bipolar child. This offense avoidance is part of the Christian doctrine of righteous parent abuse. Usually, when a parent says "no" to their bipolar child, they fly into a rage attack, beating up their parents in the process. The idea behind avoiding offense in children is to avoid using the word "no"  whenever possible - meaning only for safety's sake - and when you do, be willing to apologize for hurting your bipolar child's feelings with limits that they cannot accept. Whenever children do lash out at you for limits that they cannot accept, the idea is to find tears, and cry when your child strikes out at you, in the midst of your apology to them for hurting their feelings. You may find that they will take pity over your crying and wailing. In the case that you do need to apologize to your child, in most cases, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, when parents hurt their child's feelings with limits not out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your bipolar child as a parent, including when they are acting defiant and disorderly, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards children is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This stanza of this commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this stanza of this commandment ultimately was received as prohibiting all offenses in children as perceived by the child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

It is a myth that a child with bipolar disorder cannot be disciplined without medication. The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to a certain specific form of nurturing children, namely of the teaching sort. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in children, namely self-discipline and self-control. Whenever these behaviors showed at all, children were lavishly praised and encouraged by parents for more discipline of the same. Usually, a bipolar child has moments of clarity, and even can hold it together in public. Whenever you see moments of clarity in your child, praise them for keeping it together. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is more aptly translated to "instruction" in more modern versions of the Bible, with the Apostle Paul here discussing religious instruction. Religious needs are more apparent when a child is stabilized, as medication helps children to let in the Holy Spirit. Before then, children might dabble in a religion, but they won't run with it until they are medicated. Children, in most cases, develop religion on their own, without it being beaten into them.

Childhood bipolar disorder is not who a child is. It is a disease of the human brain. A child with bipolar disorder needs medication in order to function. However, lithium treatment is the gold standard of treating bipolar disorder in children, and lithium treatment cannot be utilized safely until around age 16. Until then, you will need to put up with their highs and lows, while encouraging moments of clarity in a child whenever they come. Childhood bipolar disorder is like a parasite of the brain, with medication being the only option for children with bipolar disorder getting well.

Many parents are hesitant to medicate their child with bipolar disorder. However, your child is not a "bad kid" for struggling with bipolar disorder. They simply are struggling with a physical ailment of the brain. I myself take lithium for bipolar disorder, and took it since I was 16. If I didn't take it then, I might have to deal with maxing out of my lithium dosage later in life. It is no fun being that free with your emotions. You feel out of control, and the only reason I was hesitant to give lithium treatment a try was because no other medications worked, so why would lithium work? I hated feeling out of control as a child. I was exclusively manic as a child, starting when I was very young. I was treated as a "bad kid" as a child. Bipolar disorder should not be shameful to admit in your child, but instead simply serves as an explanation as to your child's labile and unhinged behaviors. 

Bipolar disorder is linked to creative genes. However, those creative genes are more apparent when the individual with bipolar disorder is medicated. Thus, I am very much pro-medication in the context of gentle parenting. It is no different that treating a physical ailment. Mental illness in and of itself is a physical ailment of the human brain. A child can have most any mental health disorder that an adult can have.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!