Righteous pampering: Why God wants parents to pamper their children

Many parents think it is the irresponsible choice to pamper children. Most American parents do, in fact, pamper their children, but only "once and a while" once "children earned it". Most parents in America want to be seen as strict with their children. The fact of the matter, however, is that this sort of punitive parenting to the Bible and its context. In order to bring up a child that respects you, you need to respect them by pampering them throughout their childhood.

Righteous pampering is a form of 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 child 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 submission of parents. Children are to rest securely in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul to lift up the customary law that commands a secure attachment between parents and children in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents are to submit to their children as their enemy, from beneath yet from above, expecting absolutely nothing in return.

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, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or controlling demeanor towards children. 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 in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating your child 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 secular writings.

The acronym of righteous pampering means pampering children, not just some of the time, but all of the time. The Bible, when understood in context, calls for a specific type of pampering, done when children are under age 6, and to a certain degree when children were over age 6. During the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness to mothers, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. The Early Christians practiced birth nudity, where mother and child were in the nude next to each other, in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy. When children were crying or upset, mothers responded to the cries by cooing towards the child, and then holding the child close to her bosom in mammary closeness. When mothers were about and about, children were swaddled next to the bosom of mothers in swaddling blankets. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in skin-on-skin format. Co-sleeping was always in skin-on-skin format. This skin-on-skin co-sleeping lasted until the child reached the onset of puberty, which was when children wanted a place of their own to sleep.

Pampering children early in life leads to children growing up to reverently respect their parents. After a whole childhood of being pampered by parents, children bowed down to their parents when baptized. Respect for parents is a place children come to once they are young adults, and is a form of thanksgiving for all of the fond memories of being pampered by parents. Sometimes, children were offended or abused by their parents, in which they shunned their parents, or in some cases, even got the parents excommunicated from the church. However, most children in the Early Church had a good childhood, and so they bowed down in gratitude and thanksgiving for the sustaining warmth shown to them throughout childhood.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them forever be 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 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!