Send Parenting Radio episode number 43.

My name is Todd Adams.

And this is Kathy Adams.

And today we are talking about parents forcing their kids to apologize.

Yes, which we see all the time.

And you have been mean to me lately, sweetie.

So I need, I demand that you say that you're sorry.

Oh, you're making that up.

I'm totally making it up.

But that's what we do.

I know.

Why do we do that?

I don't know.

How useful is that?

Well, that's what we're going to discuss because I think that most parents would think it's very useful because that's what they've been taught to do. And when I've brought this up with parents before, they will come

at, you know, if I say, well, let's talk about forcing your kids to apologize. We have to say you're

sorry. That's manners. And it's like, well, there is the structure of manners, like, you know,

ways to be sorry or ways to say sorry. And then there's the actual being,

sorry, feeling it in your body. And I think what we have to realize is what do we really want

to teach our kids, how to throw out some words so they can walk away from a situation. You know,

they can say, oh, sorry, and then walk away, you know, and think it's all

over, even though they don't feel any different?

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