Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old
The prompt
“Why do you think saying sorry matters even when it feels awkward to say?”
What to listen for
If they connect sorry to the other person's feelings ("so they don't feel bad anymore"), that shows real empathy taking root. If they connect it more to consequences ("so I don't get in trouble"), that's a normal earlier stage, gently nudge toward the other person's feelings with a follow-up question rather than correcting them.
Notice if they mention that sorry feels hard because of embarrassment or pride, naming that awkwardness out loud, rather than pretending sorry should be easy, builds real honesty about how apologies actually feel.
If they say "I don't know," ask about the last time someone said sorry to THEM and how it felt to receive it.
What this tells you
Whether they connect apology to someone else's feelings or to avoiding trouble shows how far their empathy has developed so far.