Righteous pampering: Wy parents should pamper their children

Many parents want to appear tough and strict on their children. Most American parents take "mean" as a complement when children call them "mean". The fact of the matter is that the Bible, as understood in context, says to pamper your children. Baby your children, and coddle them with your love and submission.

Righteous pampering is part of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission, when children surrender into the loving arms of mothers. 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 submission of parents. This word ultimately refers to a secure attachment between parent and child in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents are to submit to their child as they would to God, 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 was 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 parent 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 a 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. Paul may not have gotten along with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children during his time. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers got out the scourge of cords, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were largely persecuted for being "too soft" on their children.

Righteous pampering refers to pampering your children, but in just the right way. For the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness with mothers, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. For the first 2 years of a child's life, they were constantly held, either in mom's arms, or else in a papoose bag on mom's back when her hands were full. When children were aged 2-6, they ranged next to mothers, not leaving mom out of their line of sight, fearing that mothers would "go away and never come back". Whenever a child cried, mothers cooed at the child before picking the child up and cradling the child in her bosom, in skin-on-skin mammary closeness. When mothers were out and about, young children under age 6 were swaddled next to the bosom of mothers in swaddling blankets. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers, with this co-sleeping ending, in most cases, when the child reached the onset of puberty. Mothers breastfed their children to sleep every night when milk-hungry, with this breastfeeding ending when the child pushed away the nipple.

Cooing is a primal way for mothers to reassure children, and make sure that they feel heard. Whenever mothers (and fathers) coo at their children, the child's loud tears immediately turn silent. This prepared children for being picked up and held by mothers. Mothers then held their children until they were calm. Sometimes, the child needed a nap, in which case mothers co-snuggled with their child to ease them to sleep, after cooing at them.

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 day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!