Separation anxiety: Why children cry out of nowhere

Many parents have to deal with it. A child cries seemingly for no reason. However, most children cry due to separation anxiety when they are young. Most children who cry actually need YOU to soothe their upsets. 

Dealing with separation anxiety 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. See also Matt. 22:35-40. 

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

For 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. For the first 2 years of a child's life, children were constantly held, either in mom's arms, or in a papoose bag on her back if mom's hands were full. Between ages 2-6, children ranged beside mothers, following her around from room to room, not allowing mothers out of their sight, fearing that mothers would "go away and never come back". 

When children cry out of nowhere, there is always a reason why they are crying. They could be hungry, tired, or just plainly in need of secure attachment. When children cried, mothers cooed at their children in order to reassure them that they have been heard. From there, mothers diagnosed the need, and met it. There are five main needs that children have; food, water, shelter, transportation, and attachment - and the greatest of these needs is attachment! 

Most of the time, when children cry for seemingly no reason, they are afraid of mothers "going away and never coming back". Separation anxiety is fear of harm befalling a caregiver, such as a parent. It is a normal stage of development for children aged 0-6, with children naturally wanting YOU for closeness and intimacy. This closeness, coming in skin-on-skin fashion, reassures the child of mom's presence.

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!