"Terrible twos": Why Christian attachment parenting solves the whole problem

Most parents have to deal with it at some point. The "terrible twos" often occur in American homes, and parents don't know what to do about the "terrible twos", except punish and be controlling with young children. Most parents do not understand a 2-year-old's proper place in society. A 2-year-old was still considered a baby in the Early Church.

The "terrible twos" can be dealt with using the Christian doctrine of mutual 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, dutifully and selflessly submitting to children as they would to God, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely in the submission of parents. Parents are to submit to children as their enemy, from beneath yet from above, revering and fearing children as extensions of God.

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, stemming 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 children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to deatrh 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 in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating them as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict 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 in his writings.

The "terrible twos" are understood widely as the chaos that unfolds when a child turns 2. This does not happen as a natural occurrence in child development. A child who is aged at age 2 is still a baby in many ways. One way is that they need breastmilk from their mother, and need it until they push away the mother's breast. 

The idea is to start out by holding your baby constantly, instead of isolating them in cribs and strollers. When out and about, you can hold your baby in swaddling blankets and suckle your teat at their own accord. You can also find swaddling blankets that fit a 2-year-old. The idea is to hold your 2-year-old in order to pacify their behaviors. When they get uppity and ramp up, offer them to breastfeed. This should pacify the 2-year-old.

Mothers in biblical times, including the Early Church, didn't have to deal with the "terrible twos". Children were in constant closeness with mothers until age 6. Children were weaned, on average, around age 3, when they pushed away the teat of the mother, in which case parents had to move on to solid foods. Sometimes, breastfeeding went all the way until age 6. Most children were pacified by being held by their mothers, meaning they felt at peace in their mother's loving arms. Mothers also co-slept next to children in skin-on-skin format, futher building a bond between mother and child.

When a child is ramping up and become upset and frustrated, it is because they are being treated as an older child, not the babies that they are. The idea is to hold your child, as a mother, from day one, and keep holding your child through those "terrible" twos, which won't be so terrible. When a child has all their needs met - including attachment needs - they will revert into a calm, passive state, usually while in the loving arms of their mother. That's because children that young need closeness, and need it until at least age 6, or maybe even later in childhood.

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!