Forced apologies are perfectly acceptable in my book.

After becoming a parent I noticed a bunch of parents talking about how they “Don’t do forced apologies” because “the kid doesn’t really mean it” and that developmentally many kids just aren’t capable of that type of remorse. To those parents I’d simply ask: do you make your child say please or thank you? By that logic, the child must be genuinely thankful to say thank you. “Please” also means “If you please” indicating that it’s up to the other person and you are not attempting to force your will on them. Do you think your child fully understands that concept? Sometimes it’s just good to teach basic manners to your children so they grow up with an understanding of how to treat people. The feeling behind and the deeper sentiment can come later. Going through the motions at first is good practice for realizing how it is acceptable to act in society, and how to live harmoniously with others.I’m not saying that “sorry” should replace anything, like teaching empathy to your child or encouraging them to put themselves in other people’s shoes, but I always viewed “Sorry” as a manners thing. It is acknowledging you were in the wrong, and it is about learning to humble yourself before someone else, and I think it’s never too early to teach a child that.I think a big reason why we don’t like forced apologies is because we live in an individualistic vs a collectivist culture, but that’s a different matter entirely. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2EmSsRY