26 Jun Forgiveness
Requires balance
Forgiveness is a complex emotion that requires balance. It’s easy for people to express an apology every time they do something hurtful or offensive to others.
However, words without actions don’t mean much if the same behaviour continues.
“I’m sorry” is an expression we have all heard from our parents and caregivers from a very early age. In addition to being words that we might often express ourselves. But do we put much thought into changing our behaviour regarding whatever we apologised for?
When you teach your child about forgiveness, you can help them become self-aware by letting them know that we all make mistakes and while it’s nice to say “I’m sorry” it suggests attempting to change behaviour to avoid being hurtful or unkind in future.
When it comes to young children, forgiveness can be understood through everyday situations like sharing toys, taking turns, or saying something hurtful.
Forgiveness is tied closely to emotions. As a parent, you can help your child recognise and understand their emotions and why they feel the way they do.
For instance, if your child is upset because someone took their toy without asking, you can guide them to recognise their feelings of anger or sadness.
By acknowledging these emotions, you can help them understand that forgiveness is a way to let go of those negative feelings and move towards resolving the situation.
Teaching forgiveness in these situations also helps your child develop other character traits.
It encourages them to cultivate empathy, putting themselves in someone else’s shoes and understanding how their actions may have affected others.
It promotes compassion, encouraging them to consider the feelings of others and extend kindness even when they feel hurt.
Furthermore, forgiveness allows children to grasp the concept of justice, recognising that everyone makes mistakes and deserves a chance to make amends.
By helping your child navigate their emotions and understand forgiveness, you are laying the foundation for them to develop empathy, compassion, and a sense of justice.
These interconnected character traits will support their social and emotional growth, helping them build healthy and harmonious relationships with others.
Being forgiving impacts our emotional status, not the person who caused the pain or damage. Forgiveness isn’t about condoning or excusing harmful behaviour. Sometimes the best thing to do for themselves is to walk away from a friendship if someone makes them uncomfortable due to their demands or requests.
Let your child know about establishing boundaries. It will help them recognise when people are being disrespectful towards them. Help them develop friendships and intimate relationships where they are treated with kindness and respect as they grow.
Explain to your child that we all make mistakes by trusting people we later learn we shouldn’t have and that forgiving oneself is a hard lesson.
Always remember to always teach balance and moderation with every character trait.
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