Teaching Kids about Forgiveness

Kids are innocent and are the cynosure of all eyes. At such a tender stage of life which they are in, kids tend to be susceptible towards everything. They learn all that is taught to them at a great speed. Being naïve, they cannot differentiate between what is bad and what is good for them. It is at this stage when all the parents want to teach their kids those values that would help them lead a healthy life. Forgiveness is a very important value. It is a healing process which ceases the feel of resentment and anger towards another person. Teach your kids this important value through simple ways so that your kid attains the spirit of forgiveness. Read on and get some tips on teaching kids about forgiveness.

How to Teach Your Kid Forgiveness

The first step is to teach your kids the process of repentance. Make him/her learn the art of feeling sorrowful for the mistake that he/she has done. It’s only when you commit a mistake and feel sorry for it, that you can grant forgiveness to others for their mistakes.
Be sympathetic. If your child is upset, justify his/her reaction and feelings. Most often, as humans, we just want to be heard and our thoughts to be acknowledged. Once your child has had an opportunity to vent his/her feelings, gently explain that the person who hurt him/her is very sorry. Encourage him/her to have a discussion with the person.
Remind your child of a time when he/she hurt someone’s feelings. Children are very perceptive; yet lack the capability to understand other’s point of view all the time. If your child is able to relate to how the child who hurt him/her feels, he/she will have more sympathy and be more inclined to offer forgiveness. Reminding him/her of a time he/she felt sad for hurting someone will help him understand the other person’s emotional feelings.
Encourage your child to talk to the person who hurt him/her. Teaching your child the importance of communication early in life is important. Disagreements are a part of life and the sooner he/she can understand and recognize that people will have opposing views and accept them, the greater prepared he/she will be for relationships in the future.
Remind your child that forgiving someone does not mean the hurt goes away. Allow your child to be upset or hurt for a while. Encouraging forgiveness is a way for them to release the bad feelings. Hanging on to hurt and bitterness will take him/her nowhere.
Be patient. Your child is a growing and learning individual. He/she will make mistakes and struggle. Gently guide him/her towards the correct path.
Practice what you preach. If you are constantly pestering your child to say sorry to his/her sister or forgive his/her brother, but rehash arguments or remain bitter yourself, you are doing your child a disservice. Children learn by example.
Discuss religion or science. If you are a religious family, you may want to incorporate religious lessons or topics covered in school in this discussion. No matter your faith, or whoever you consider your maker, forgiveness is divine. If you are not religious, you can incorporate the positive effects of your body and mind through science when you forgive.
Teach your child the four promises of forgiveness because through these promises relationships restore and bitterness fades away. The four promises of forgiveness are - I promise I will not dwell on what you did wrong and will think good thoughts about you & do well for you, I promise I will not bring up this situation and use it against you,I promise I will not talk to others about what you did, I promise I will be friends with you again.

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