Pro-social skin-on-skin: One quick fix to deal with a crying child

Many parents want a quick fix to a crying child. Pro-spanking advocates often advertise their parenting as a "quick fix" or else "easy to use", thus making it a valid form of dealing with a crying child. Ordinary positive parenting advocates often state that there is no quick fix in parenting. However, the fact of the matter is that skin-on-skin comforting strategies are, in fact, a quick fix for a crying child.

It says in Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and grace of parents. Children are to rest in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Parents are to ensure that their children have a warm and loving upbringing, winning over their children's affection and respect. When you use attachment parenting to the fullest in Christian parenting, children listen to parents, automatically and out of instinct, with children not questioning the motives of their parents, trusting warmly and fondly in parents. Obedience, in the biblical tense, is not something you force onto children, but is a willful choice on the part of a child to surrender to parents, with such surrender into the arms of parents coming from parents filling the cup of children to the top with their every vulnerable need. This verse lifts up the customary laws and church ordinance mandating attachment parenting, thus lifting up the attachment parenting context of the Bible.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by the child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech, coming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, an understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including any punishment or controlling demeanor towards a child. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children too many times, and after receiving many warnings that their punitive parenting practices were in violation of the Law. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damage or offense stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen then as holding a child hostage merely for doing things wrong. Paul here was lifting up the Law to a group of Greek Christian parents who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any sort of punishment of a child whatsoever. Paul, here, was advocating on behalf of children in Greek and Roman Christian homes who were being beaten, whipped, and brutalized for minute "purity" offenses. Paul was educating the Greek and Roman Christians about proper Jewish parenting.

Mothers, in biblical times, were the adults primarily charged with the care and protection of children. Mothers then did not gain cooperation from children using spanking or punishment. Instead, mothers used skin-on-skin comforting strategies to gain cooperation from children. Children did not wear clothing, at all, until they reached adulthood. Mothers only wore clothing outside the home, and otherwise, wore no clothing whatsoever. Mothers snuggled with children in order to reassure their crying.

Skin-on-skin comforting strategies are very effective at dealing with crying in a child, and in most cases, can stop crying within 1-2 minutes, in which case you can then talk to your child about what is wrong. The idea is to place the child on the bosom of mothers, head first in the case of an older child. This mammary closeness soothes children, and reassures them of your presence. There are nerve endings on the bosom of mothers, and on the stomach and chest of children, so that skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy can work to calm down a crying child. It will feel natural, once you as a mother do it, and will feel like the natural thing to do about a crying child.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger 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 Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!