SEATTLE — How many times have parents said, "apologize to your brother" or "say sorry to your sister?"
For most parents, it happens every day. But are those apologies ever genuine? Most often, they're not.
It turns out, forcing your child to apologize could do more harm than good according to Certified Parent Coach, Beaven Walters.
In order to encourage genuine apologies, Walters suggests the following steps.
1) Don't rush the process
2) Value genuine feelings over performance
3) Give time for empathy and caring to kick in
4) Be open to alternative forms of apologizing
Walters also said to model 'no buts' behavior. That means when we feel bad about getting angry at our kids, we should just simply apologize as opposed to saying, "I'm sorry I got angry, but you weren't listening." Being an example is the best teaching skill for our kids.
There are even ways to facilitate an apology and help children find their own empathy.
KING 5's Amity Addrisi continues her series on decoding parenting Sundays on KING 5 Mornings.