Sunday, August 16, 2009

Teach Them to Reconcile With Each Other

Teach them to reconcile with each other and with other relationships they have.

If one of our children has wronged the other, then they must learn to say sorry and take responsibility. And then the other child must learn to forgive. We do not let hurts get swept under the carpet or just move on from them. We try and deal with them head on and walk our children through it. We insist that they use the words, "Will you forgive me." Then the person must reply, "I forgive you." You'll be surprised just how powerful those words are. (Note: Insisting that your children ask forgiveness from those whom they’ve wronged is better than just having them say sorry. Asking forgiveness requires a response, which enables your child to feel the weight of his bad behaviour more.)

Another part of this is learning to make restitution. If the children break someone else’s toy, then they must buy another and replace it. They must make it right. Sometimes saying sorry is only part of the solution. Sometimes they need to right the wrong they have done.

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