We all mess up, sometimes. But apologies are hard — even for adults.

Sometimes “I’m sorry” comes out of your child’s mouth, but the words aren’t genuine and the behavior doesn’t change. Apologies should be about repairing a connection — not about just saying some words. How do we help our kids learn how to say “I’m sorry!” and really mean it?

“Are you going to tell me another story tonight?” asked my 4-year-old son.

I watched the video monitor with a mixture of hope and dread, muttering “please sleep, please sleep” under my breath.

My 4-year-old works hard to keep up with his two older brothers. We were recently building towers with blocks together, and my youngest son couldn’t get his creation quite right. His tower just wouldn’t stay together. I could feel his frustration bubbling, and his big emotions soon erupted into tears.

My 6-year-old was excited to make a star out of sticks and string, but as the materials tangled, his frustration spiked. So we took a break and went on a walk together.

Social media is abound with messages to parents that their love and attention is all their kids need during this stressful time. These messages are no doubt intended to be empowering.

My 6-year-old was excited to make a star out of sticks and string, but as the materials tangled, his frustration spiked. So we took a break and went on a walk together.