Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old
The prompt
“What's the difference between a sorry that feels real and a sorry that feels fake?”
What to listen for
If they describe tone, eye contact, or someone actually changing their behavior, they're picking up on what repair really looks like, which means they need relationships where words match actions.
If they mention a fake sorry from their own life, a quick or grumpy one, that's a chance for them to feel heard about something that bugged them without you having to fix it on the spot.
If they shrug, ask what a sorry from you sounds like when you really mean it, that usually gets them talking.
What this tells you
How they judge a real apology shows how much they need honesty and follow-through to actually trust the people around them.