We must not dishearten them by continually pointing out the things they do wrong and by failing to commend them for the things they do right. We must not tell them that they are bad or that they will never amount to anything. If we do, they will despair of ever pleasing us and, in fact, they will grow angry with us, possibly to the point of resenting us or even hating us. When we disobey God's command by provoking our children to anger, we break their spirits. When a child's spirit is broken, he loses hope.
Some children express that loss of hope by becoming angry and bitter.
Others grow apathetic or depressed. Still others withdraw into their own safe, little, fantasy worlds. Therefore, it will drift into the raging seas of temptation where it will fall prey to the purveyors of false hope in the form of drugs, pornography, and premarital sex. A child without hope will usually grow up to be irresponsible. Some even become criminals.