Separation anxiety: Why children cry for seemingly no reason

Many parents have to deal with it. A child crying seemingly out of nowhere. Most parents think that a child crying out of nowhere is trying to be "manipulative" or else "undermine parents". However, there is an easy explanation for most cries that seem to come out of nowhere - separation anxiety.

Reassuring separation anxiety requires mutual submission between parents and children, with children surrendering to the loving arms of children. 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. Parents are the enemy of children, just as mankind is the enemy of God, and are to submit as such. This surrender to parents came with strings attached on the part of parents, with children being able to issue righteous demands on parents, usually when parents weren't pulling their weight.

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 other 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 writings. Paul may not have gotten along well with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and took on a few orphaned children. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers used the scourge of cords on their children to punish them, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were hated largely for being "too soft" on their children.

Separation anxiety is a normal form of anxiety in children between the ages of 0-6. The main reason why children cry in that age range is because they fear that their mother is "going away and never coming back". This fear is a normal stage of child development. It is a common reason for children to cry out of nowhere.

The biblical way of parenting really brought out separation anxiety in children. Mothers accommodated separation anxiety by engaging in constant closeness with children. Children were in constant closeness with mothers, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. When in the household, children were either held as babies, or else range besides the mother when aged 3-6. Separation anxiety was why mothers stayed close to their children. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in order to reassure closeness, with co-sleeping coming in skin-on-skin format.

Mothers cooed when children cried out of separation, with cooing intended to reassure the child with separation anxiety of the mother's presence. Cooing is a primal expression of a mother that reassures the child of her presence. Whenever your child cries seemingly out of nowhere, coo at them before picking them up. Most gentle parenting advice says to kneel down to the child. However, children in the Early Church were picked up by their parents, and cradled like a baby in the bosom of mothers.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their 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 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!