You Have to Say You're Sorry Now We Didn't

I've never said to my kids, you have to say you're sorry. I find it so empty and I don't want them to turn a blind eye to the empathic nature of an apology. An apology is something very big and profound that can feel like not only shameful to them in that moment because they've been penalized and have to go fix it. It's like that's a word. You're saying it actually a word that someone else told you to tell you in the exact timeframe. So I feel like the absorption of what really went on there is also quickly dismissed because you said you're sorry now we didn't. Let's talk about what happened in a more appropriate