If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky. If you say to your children "I'm sorry I got angry with you, but …" what follows that "but" can make the apology ineffective: "I had a bad day" or "your noise was giving me a headache " leaves the person who has been injured feeling that he should be apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology.
Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say "I'm sorry you're upset"; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.
Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying "I'm useless as a parent" does not commit a person to any specific improvement.
These pseudo(假的)-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies.
But even when presented with examples of contrition（悔悟）, children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old boy might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old boy might need reminding that spoiling other children's expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old might need to be shown that taking the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent's clothes without permission is not.
1. If a mother adds "but" to an apology, _______.
A. she doesn't feel that she should have apologized
B. she does not realize that the child has been hurt
C. the child may find the apology easier to accept
D. the child may feel that he owes her an apology
2. According to the author, saying "I'm sorry you're upset" most probably means "_______".
A. You have good reason to get upset
B. I'm aware you're upset, but I'm not to blame
C. I apologize for hurting your feelings
D. I'm at fault for making you upset
3. It is not advisable to use the general, all-covering apology because _______.
A. it gets one into the habit of making empty promises
B. it may make the other person feel guilty
C. it is vague and ineffective
D. it is hurtful and insulting
4. We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry _______.
A. the complexities involved should be ignored
B. their ages should be taken into thinking
C. parents need to set them a good example
D. parents should be patient and tolerant
5. It can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is _______.
A. a social issue calling for immediate attention B. not necessary among family members
C. a sign of social progress D. not as simple as it seems
