Commentators stress that "provoke not your children to wrath" is a direct command against parenting out of anger, impatience, or with unreasonable demands. This was a revolutionary idea in a time of absolute paternal authority. The goal is to avoid exasperating children or causing them to lose heart (Col. 3:21). Punishment, when necessary, should be calm and for the child's good, not a display of the parent's frustration, which only teaches the child to be angry in return.