The use of the word successful here is subjective.
Noah was successful, according to the Bible. The account says, 'Noah did just so.' He warned the people. He finished the ark. He brought in the animals, and he went in with his family. He survived destruction.
Jesus said, thus it will be, in his day.
People mistakenly associate success with numbers, but this is a mistaken view, especially where Jehovah is concerned.
Success is not dependent on how people respond. It is dependent on what one does.
Hence, Matthew 24:14 says, "...this good news of the Kingdom
will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Everyone gets a witness. How they respond is up to them.
God made an entire human population from two humans. He then made an entire population from eight persons. He can make an entire population from a few million. Numbers don't matter.
Those who respond chose the right path, and benefit. Those who don't, lose out.
Throwing away everlasting life is a choice. Adam made that one. Will we?
No problem.
Children learn best by what they see. They are great imitators. This is a fact.
Jehovah knew this long before us, and knows it better.
Children learn from what their parents do
Children see, Children Do
The account of Lot and family, bears this out.
(Genesis 19:4, 5) 4 Before they could lie down to sleep, the men of the city - the men of Sodom from boy to old man, all of them - surrounded the house in one mob. 5 And they kept calling out to Lot and saying to him: “Where are the men who came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may have sex with them.”
Jehovah knows every situation better than any of us, and he is all wise.
Aside from that, Jehovah is the giver of life. Children are really lent to us, and there is no life that Jehovah cannot replace. The Egyptian women that spared the Israelite boys, saw this. Job saw it, and many others.
We all have various beliefs and views.
However, if we believe the Bible, I think we should be able to back up what we say, with scripture... and not have irreconcilable discrepancies.
I asked someone this, but they seemed reluctant to give me an answer. So perhaps you can tell me your view. Whom is Jesus referring to at Luke 12:4, 5?