A young child should learn the meaning of forgiveness. When a child forgives another person, then that child feels that in spite of how wrong or hurtful someone has been, he or she can overlook what that person did or say. The forgiving child will not hold a mistaken behavior against someone. The forgiving child should be ready and willing to say “I’m sorry.”
A young child needs to picture what the world would be like if no one wanted to be forgiving, if no one wanted to say “I’m sorry.” In such a world, every person would feel suspicious of and worried about every other person. In a world where no one wanted to practice forgiveness, no one would be given the opportunity to improve.
Forgiveness is a virtue, because forgiveness provides each person with the motivation to strive to be better. Change should be tempered with forgiveness. Change should not mean a condemnation of the decision made by another person. Forgiveness encourages change because it precedes that change with the words “I’m sorry.”
When a caring and loving person hears those words (I’m sorry), then he or she will feel motivated to change his speech and actions. If someone repeats the same action over and over without saying “I’m sorry,” that person shows the inability to respond to an act of forgiveness.
When would a small child need to say “I’m sorry”? A child who has promised to do something and them forgot to do it should be encouraged to say “I’m sorry,” and then that child should be told in clear terms that he or she has been forgiven for the oversight.
When a child has been nasty to another child, or to an adult, that child should say, “I’m sorry,” and then that child should feel that he or she has been given another chance to do what is right.
