At times we can find ourselves responding to conflict or an argument that we later regret, after the heat of the moment has passed.  It happens to everyone, and hopefully it helps guide us towards a different response the next time an argument occurs (it may take a few goes).

Maggie Dent, in her book “From Boys to Men” writes about the importance of talking to your child after an argument, and modelling the behaviour you would like to see from your son:

The Power of Sorry

There is no question that there are no perfect human beings on our planet.  Of course, there will be times that we yell, misinterpret our children, misunderstand what they want and generally bugger up.  The old male-code told us that men don’t apologise, it’s a sign of weakness, but one of the mot powerful things we can teach our boys is that when we make mistakes, we own up to that mistake and we apologise if need be.  This shows them that this is the right thing to do. We need to teach our boys that saying sorry when we really mean it is a sign of courage and strength, not the opposite.  It is also about taking responsibility for your actions, which is important for boys to learn.  Our boys need to see the men in their lives – particularly their dads – apologise.

Maggie Dent, From Boys to Men

Terase Killin and Marcus Missio-Spiteri
College Counsellors