Here's What To Say To Your Kid When You Know You've Messed Up

It happens to every parent at some point: We’re stressed from constantly juggling priorities, and our kid does that thing again. The one that gets on our last nerve. The one we’ve repeatedly asked them not to do.

We explode, hurling accusations: “Why do you keep... I’ve told you a million times...” But almost as soon as the words leave our lips, we regret them.

We’re supposed to be modeling the kind of behavior we want to see in our kids, and we want to remain authority figures in their lives. How do we admit that we messed up without undermining these roles?

By showing our kids how to take ownership of our actions, including our mistakes, and how to give an authentic apology, we are modeling important skills for our children. Our kids seeing us at our best and worst allows us to connect with them authentically.

“Repair strengthens relationships,” Sarah Bren, a family psychologist in New York, told HuffPost.