Total submission: Why parents are to submit to their children

Many parents think that children should submit to them. This is a common view among American parents. Most American parents want their children to submit to them. These parents often use the Bible to justify their punitive parenting views. However, even the Bible opposes the striking or punishment of a child to "bring them to submission". A parent is instead to bring themselves to submission if they want that sort of treatment from their children.

Love is submission, and submission is love. Christian love is denoted in the New Testament by the Greek root word αγαπαο (Latin: agapao), and refers to, in this context, prioritizing children first, and yourself last, to the point of dutiful and selfless submission to the every vulnerable need of children, expecting absolutely nothing in return from children or anyone else. True Love does not come from pride or desire, but instead a place of conviction, where the parent comes to the knowledge that they are a depraved and decadent sinner deserving of absolutely nothing, from children or anyone else. This change of heart leads to the sinner paying due penance by serving their neighbor. Children were seen in biblical times as your neighbor. See Matt. 22:35-40.

Parents are to dutifully and selflessly submit to their children, and their children's every vulnerable need. Children are to rest securely in the wake of said submission. See 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 securely in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Parents are to be extensions of Christ in the family home, sacrificing for their children, just as Christ sacrificed for His children on the cross, with children being a Godhead for parents to serve, with children resting in the submission of parents, owing absolutely nothing to children. Parents are the enemy of children, just as mankind is the enemy of God, with parents being subservient to them just as they are to Him, expecting absolutely nothing in return from children or anyone else.

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 a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, coming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including any punishments or controlling demeanor towards a child. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen then as holding your child hostage merely for things they did wrong, thus enslaving them. Anyone who treated their children like captured slaves as treated as if they captured slaves under the Law, as the only slavery allowed then was indentured servitude. Paul was lifting up this legal context 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 and all punishment of a child.

Children, in biblical times, wore no clothing, at all, until they were adults. Women only wore clothing outside the home, and otherwise went in the nude, in order to serve their husbands or their children. Mothers served their children by way of providing for them nourishment and sustenance, namely breastmilk (until age 3) and skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy. The core aspect of Christian attachment parenting in the 1st Century was skin-on-skin co-sleeping. Mothers and children slept next to each other in the nude, with even older children soaking up the rays from skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy. By day, mothers co-snuggled with children to reassure their cries and upset, holding children to their bosom in mammary closeness. Children went naked for a specific reason - so mothers could easily cuddle them up and hold children to their bare skin on their bosom, with the mother going in the nude for the same reason as the child, meaning secure attachment...this context is valid today just as it was in the days of old, perhaps with some tweaking.

Submission to children ultimately involves maternal closeness to children, preferably in skin-on-skin format. Children have five main categories of needs; food, water, shelter, transportation, and attachment - and the greatest of these is attachment! Meeting attachment needs involves earning the trust and affection of children, and this involves giving children everything they need, including most of what they want. Even if they are begging for your attention, that's what they need, so hold them to your bosom as a mother like only YOU can do. In the heat of the tantrum, invite your child to throw off the clothing, with you disrobing as well, then with mother and child snuggling in closeness and reassurance. Fathers can also pitch in by verbally reassuring a crying child of their presence, empathizing with the crying child. Mothers nurture up close, and fathers from afar. 

The goal of Christian attachment parenting is not to keep children down when they rebel, but to please them in order to prevent rebellion. The core nature of children is rebellious and disorderly, but the solution isn't to punish those traits, but to please and appease children and win them over through forming a secure parent-child bond. One easy way to win over your child, as a mother, is to use skin-on-skin comforting methods. Mammary closeness wins over children of any age quickly.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be forever cast 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 forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!