Teaching Kids How to Say Sorry + Printable
Man. Being a kid is hard. With their brutal honesty and direct approach at sharing that honesty, feelings often get hurt. And we are all human and make mistakes. It’s how we grow as people and learn the do’s and don’ts of living in society. Learning how to say sorry is an integral part of repairing our wrongs and learning from them. The concept of saying sorry is something that kids understand very early on. But as they get older, and their egos start to develop, it can be harder for them to actually say it when they need to. I created a free printable to help them say sorry. It’s a simple way to get them to share a heartfelt sentiment with the person they hurt. We talk at our kids a lot. Sometimes the best way to get a message through to them is in a more indirect way. I’ve partnered with Netflix to tell you why the streaming platform is a great resource for parents. Because if being a kid is hard, being a parent is a trillion times harder.
I’m part of the Netflix #StreamTeam which means that I share my favorite programming with you every month.
My 7-year-old is a rather moody chap. He feels things deeply. When he’s angry he’s REAL angry. And when he’s happy, he’s so much fun to be around. Lately I’ve been noticing that he is taking things really hard even when they were unintentional. If a toy gets broken it devastates him. If he accidentally throws a squishy red clown nose and it hits a kid square in the eye (this actually happened) he ends up fetal on his bed because he feels so bad. All of these moments are teachable and we talk about how to get past them. Sometimes saying sorry is enough, as long as we change our actions. But sometimes we need to do a little bit more. I created a printable “I’m Sorry” postcard for these occasions. 
Sometimes you say sorry but know that the person is still upset. Writing it out, and giving them something tangible to hold often reinforces the sentiment. Or it might help to get the initial “sorry” out. Growing up we had a neighbor girl who was super stubborn. One day she wouldn’t apologize to my mom for something that had happened. She was sent to her room and couldn’t come out until she apologized. And the funniest part was that my mom couldn’t go home until she got the apology. She was there for hours! I don’t remember if the apology ever happened or how the standoff ended. But now, after having kids, I see that taking a different approach might have helped. If she had been able to write the apology initially, she might have done it right away. I’m not saying that she didn’t need to say it to my mom, face to face also, I’m just saying that she obviously had to overcome something huge in order for the word “sorry” to come out of her mouth. And she was young. She wouldn’t have won, and not had to apologize, but it would have given her options and she could maybe feel like she was still a little bit in control of the situation. 
Recently we had a situation where my youngest made a judgement error (egged on by the older brother no less) and ended up getting punched in the stomach by a friend. It was rough. Two wrongs don’t make a right but he was not innocent in the matter. Even though “I’m sorry’s” were exchanged immediately following, hurt feelings still lingered. Having these postcards to print out made a second apology super easy. They are friends again, they have move passed the situation and all is well.
I will not be printing these out and keeping them in a stack as if to say, go ahead and make bad choices, we’ll just write them a note. But I want them to know that we can always print one out if they feel they need to give one to someone. 
I want my kids to know how to say sorry and that it doesn’t make you weak, or bad for having to say it. I want them to know it means you are brave and taking responsibility for your actions and how those actions affect others. Saying sorry is hard. Maybe this free printable will help to make it a little easier. You can download the ‘I’m Sorry’ printable here.
For other harder to tackle topics, Netflix has an episode that you can use as a teaching tool. I watch TV with my boys a lot. Many times we have come across and episode of a TV show that sparks conversation. It might remind us of an incident or back me up on something I was trying to explain to them. TV is a resource that gets a bad rap. I’m a TV lover and think my kids have learned valuable information from it.
I’ve explained to my youngest over and over again that he is not responsible enough to get a dog. But this Veggie Tales episode really helped me drive the point home. And Fuller House came in handy when my oldest son was starting to give in to peer pressure and not behave in class.
I KNOW I’ll be using shows like Degrassi when my kids are a little older. You can read my post all about how I know Degrassi will be a better parent during the high school years here. And while this is a show for younger kids, I’ll be showing my boys The Hive episode on sibling rivalry. Because, geez. Enough with the bickering already. We use TV and movies for entertainment but they can actually be a great parenting tool. Don’t forget to head to Netlix when you have a parenting problem you need help with!
And after those hard talks here are some shows you can turn to for some comic relief:
Have you seen Lady Dynamite yet?? I’m only a few shows in and I love it. Season 2 of Grace and Frankie is out and I can’t wait to binge it. My hubby and I are about to start The Ranch with Danny Masterson and Ashton Kutcher, I’ve heard great things! Plus it has Sam Elliott who has THE BEST VOICE EVER! And, of course, Kimmy Schmidt‘s 2nd season is as funny as I hoped it would be!