Righteous pampering: Why God wants you to pamper and baby your children

Many parents think that children should not be pampered. The argument is that if you pamper your child, you end up spoiling them. This is a common fear amongst American parents. However, children in biblical times were pampered and babied. The fact of the matter is that you as a parent should pamper and baby your child. 

The acronym of righteous pampering denotes part of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission, with the burden of proof falling squarely onto parents. 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 here to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. This word ultimately refers here 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, giving without receiving, from beneath yet from above, expecting absolutely nothing in return. See also Matt. 22:35-40, 25:31-46.

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 parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. The 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 a deacon.

Righteous pampering isn't pampering or babying your child any old way. When using the context as a guidepost, there is only one way to pamper a child. For the first 6 years of childhood, children were in constant closeness to mothers, meaning that wherever mothers went, so did her child. For the first 2 years of childhood, children were constantly held, either in mom's loving arms, or else on mom's back in a papoose bag when her hands were full. Between ages 2-6, children ranged next to mothers, following her from room to room, not allowing mom out of their line of sight, with children morbidly fearing that mom would "go away and never come back". Whenever children cried, mothers rushed in, cooing at their children before picking them up, and from there, the mother diagnosed the need, and then met that need. Maybe the child was tired. Maybe the child was hungry. Maybe the child needed mom's milk. Maybe the child needed mom, period. When children under age 6 were out and about in public with mothers, mom wrapped up the child in swaddling blankets, with the swaddling blankets - and the child with them - being tucked underneath the loose-fitting, revealing dress worn by mothers that resembled an apron. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in skin-on-skin format, with this co-sleeping setup happening every night, until the onset of puberty, which is when most children wanted their own place to sleep. Children growing up in the Early Church went naked wherever they went, with mothers also going naked within the confines of the family home, with this birth nudity setup helping to facilitate easy skin-on-skin contact even when the child was merely picked up.

Past age 6, children played freely outside, naked. Children past age 6 engaged in wet and messy play, venturing farther and farther from home, with children exploring the terrain, coming home in a mess. However, children had to check in with mom first, and tell her where they were going. Come evening, children were called by name - one by one - with children being treated to a warm homecooked meal on a porcelain plate. Children then washed up before jumping into the family bed with mom and dad, recharging for another day's play.

Children under age 6 were very much protected, in a sheltered way. Children under age 6 only left the house while tied to the bosom of mothers in swaddling blankets. The reason for this was that children under age 6 did not appreciate the dangers that existed outside of the family home, with these dangers including things such as venomous snakes and scorpions, with there being no antivenom for the children then. Today, there exist dangers for children when outside, namely busy streets and would-be kidnappers. Most of the time, children that young stayed home, and only left the house when swaddled next to 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 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!