John Gill Commentary Colossians 3:21

"Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged." — Colossians 3:21 (ASV)

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger
(See Gill on Ephesians 6:4).

lest they be discouraged ;
or disheartened and dispirited; their spirits be broken through grief and trouble, and they become indolent, sluggish, and unfit for business; or, despairing of having any share in the affections of their parents, disregard their commands, instructions, and corrections, and grow obdurate, stubborn, and rebellious.