Apologies go both ways. Teach your kids to both receive and to give forgiveness by taking ownership of your own failures.
Talking Points:
- When you mess up as a parent, it’s important to own up and apologize to your teen, not to give yourself a pass because you’re the parent and they’re the child.
- Don’t make excuses. Kids learn from what we say, but they learn the most from what we do. Take responsibility for your actions and make needed changes. This will make your apology genuine.
- Don’t try to control your child’s response. They may not receive your apology well, even if you’re sincere. Do what you need to do to the best of your ability and be honest.
- As parents, model for your kids how to responsibly and maturely apologize and take responsibility. By modeling, your kids will hopefully adapt your good example for themselves.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- How were your own parents when it came to apologizing for failures or wrongdoings? How do you think this has affected your view on apologizing to your kids?
- When have you messed up as a parent? Do you find it hard to apologize to your kids when you fail them? Explain.
- Do you think it’s true that apologizing to your kids strengthens rather than weakens your position? Explain.
- Why is it so crucial to be genuine while apologizing?
- “Kids learn from what we say, but they learn the most from what we do.” How have you seen this to be true?
- Do you struggle with trying to control your child’s responses to you? Why is it important not to do this?
- Why should we teach our kids to both apologize and forgive?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
