Question: What does a biblical understanding mean for parents? Are they to consider their babies guilty before they have done anything wrong?
Answer: Of course not. Children are not responsible for their sins until they reach an age of accountability--and that time frame is known only to God. On the other hand, parents should not be surprised when rebellious or mischievous behavior occurs. It will happen, probably by the eighteenth month or before. Anyone who has watched a toddler throw a temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way must be hard pressed to explain how that expression of "innate goodness" got so mixed up! Did her mother or father model the tantrum for her, falling on the floor, slobbering, kicking, crying, and screaming? I would hope not. Either way, the kid needs no demonstration. Rebellion comes naturally to his and her entire generation--although in some individuals it is more pronounced than in others.
For this reason, parents can and must train, mold, correct, guide, punish, reward, instruct, warn, teach, and love their kids during the formative years. Their purpose is to shape that inner nature and keep it from tyrannizing the entire family. Ultimately, however, only Jesus Christ can cleanse it and make it "wholly acceptable" to the Master. This is what the Bible teaches about people, and this is what I firmly believe.
The The Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide
By Dr. James Dobson