Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old
The prompt
“What actually makes an apology feel better to you when someone says sorry?”
What to listen for
If they mention specifics like a hug, an explanation, or the person changing their behavior afterward, they have a clear, mature sense of what real repair looks like versus empty words, worth reflecting back to them clearly.
If they say apologies never really help, that's worth exploring gently, it might mean past apologies in their life felt rushed or forced rather than genuine, which you can be mindful of going forward.
If they say just hearing "sorry" is enough, that's fine too, kids vary in what repair looks like for them, and this tells you theirs.
What this tells you
This shows exactly what real repair looks like to them, which is worth remembering next time you need to make things right with them.