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Colossians 3:21
21 Fathers, [pater] provoke [erethizo] not [me] your [humon] children [teknon] to anger, lest [hina me] they be discouraged. [athumeo] KJV-Interlinear
21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart. NASB
Parental authority does not give you the right to break the spirit of the child. The parent’s first responsibility to their children is to teach them doctrine.
Instruction in doctrine gives them over to the instruction and control of God, thereby allowing them to begin to mature and to function independently of the hardships and bindings of the world.
A child built on doctrine is less likely to be intimidated by peer pressure, and less likely to be discouraged when failure occurs in their life.
The father is the head of the home, and with that comes the responsibility of encouragement, not discouragement.
Likewise, the wife follows the same pattern with her children just as she does with her husband. No criticism, no complaining, no harassment of someone who is obviously younger and less mature than the adult should be.
Parents should be the idols and examples that their children should be admiring, instead of celebrities. The parent should lead by example and doctrine. And even though the life of the parent may or may not be a good one, their adherence to God and doctrine, sets the example by which God instructs the child.
And even though the child may not get it at their young age, they will sooner or later in life grow up and begin to have their own experiences that will bring the instructions of their younger life, to their attention.
Constant discouraging remarks, constant complaining, constant negative attitudes will serve to drive the child away from truth, and into rebellion, indifference, and any number of other undesirable attitudes.
The child is the foundation of the next generation. If the parents fail, then the next generation may fail as well. And that can domino into succeeding generations and failure in an entire society or culture. Bad, is the only result of this direction in life.
A discouraged child often loses interest in their own life. An encouraged child often will set higher goals for themselves, and pursue them.
A successful parent will teach doctrine, not lecture it, will encourage independent thinking, not attempt to drive the child in the parents desired direction, and in all cases will support the child, making themselves available for advice when it is requested, without pushing it onto the child.
A child placed in the hands of God is a far more successful person, than one who is forced into the world.
And just a quick note, in our current dispensation, the final generations (one or two or three perhaps) will most likely possess these examples of failed parenting, making each subsequent generation not look to God, but to the promise of the world.
With that, fewer and fewer will believe in Christ, building a huge population of unbelievers ready to populate the Tribulation, which the Bible indicates will be a vast population (of unbelievers) at the time of the Rapture.
