It is the role of the parents to help guide their children to become better individuals when they get older. Even though each child’s circumstance may differ, it all boils down to how good his upbringing was. One of the ways you can teach your child to be a better person is to know how to give a heartfelt apology and to be sincere about it. If you want to teach your child how to do this, here are some of the things you need to know:

1. Don’t lecture him.

First of all, don’t lecture your child about how he should behave. Instead of lecturing your child, you should let him understand his actions as well as how these affect the other person. You can ask your child how he felt when he destroyed another child’s sandcastle. Your child will then explain his side and why he destroyed the sandcastle. He will also share the emotions he felt at the time. Let your child know that while it’s okay for him to get mad, frustrated or sad, his succeeding actions should be thoroughly thought out. Ask your child: How do you think the other child felt when you destroyed his sandcastle?”

By letting your child know his own emotions, he will identify that it’s not okay to hurt other people or make them feel sad too.

2. Don’t punish him.

Instead of punishing your child, make him do a solution that will lead to making amends. You can ask your child “What can you do to make things right?” You can then explain to your child the value of apologizing to the other child he hurt. The next thing you should do is to help your child learn how he could show his sincerity to the other child. In the example, you can teach your child to help re-build the sandcastle he destroyed.

3. Teach to make better choices.

Reenact the scenario with your child. Let him play the part of the other child while you do what he did. In the middle of it, ask him how he feels about your actions and relate to him that the other child also felt the same way. When the roleplaying is done, let him think of ways he could have handled the situation better. Let him brainstorm of different ways he can handle his emotions. The next time he is in the same scenario, he will remember the things you taught him and know how to respond better.

As a parent, you need to be patient while you teach your child the value of apologizing. You should also remember to be a good example so your child will know what he needs to do in certain circumstances.