Righteous pampering: Why God wants you to pamper your children

Many parents think that pampering their children is the irresponsible thing to do, at least when overdone. Most parents instead believe that God wants them to punish their children. However, the Bible is clear - children are to be pampered and babied. There is a specific way to baby your child, as stated in the biblical context.

The righteous pampering of children is part 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 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 children 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 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 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 children during his time as a deacon. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers got out the scourge of cords in order to punish his children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were persecuted largely for being "too soft" on their children.

Righteous pampering is pampering your child, but with that pampering coming in a specific way. For the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness to mother, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. For the first 2 years of childhood, children were constantly held by mothers, either in her arms, or else in a papoose bag when mom's hands were full. When the child was aged 2-6, they ranged beside mothers, following mothers around the house, from room to room, not allowing mothers out of their line of sight, fearing that mom would "go away and never come back". Children usually cry out of turn because they have the fear of mom going away and never coming back, and need mom's reassurance that she isn't going anywhere. 

Whenever children cried, mothers cooed at their children before picking them up, holding the child close to her bosom in skin-on-skin mammary closeness. When mothers were out and about in public, they wore their child against their bare bosom, in swaddling blankets. The swaddling blankets, and the child along with it, were swaddled underneath the loose-fitting, revealing dress of mothers that resembled an apron. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in skin-on-skin format, with this co-sleeping warmth lasting until the child reached the onset of puberty.

Cooing was a primal way of reassuring children. Such a vocalization coming from a mother was an attempt by the mother to calm down and reassure their children. Most gentle parenting outlets say to kneel down to your child and reassure them with complex phrases such as "I am here to listen". All you have to do is baby your child, picking them up after cooing at them. If they are milk-hungry, breastfeed them. Whenever they accept the nipple, they are milk-hungry. When they push away the nipple. they are ready for solid foods.

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