And parents must avoid demanding an obedience which takes from the child all power of decision. The child will make sure his parents in their old age do not lack for the necessities of life and are never neglected or forgotten. The New Testament teaches a reciprocal ethic between parents and children. If there is a duty on one side, there is always a duty on the other. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Parents have two primary obligations to their children.
There is the basic duty of nourishment, care, and support. Child exposure was quite common in New Testament times just as child abuse is today. Female infanticide was especially onerous. Baby girls were abandoned in the desert and picked up by unscrupulous individuals to be raised in brothels and used as prostitutes. There is the equally basic duty of training and discipline.