Page 20 - Unit 15 Follow Up Part B Repair Time Final for LP

Responding in the

Moment Answers

5. Forcing an apology encourages children to say things they do not

actually mean. It does not help the child become more empathic

(it can actually make the child feel controlled and have the opposite
impact of them feeling greater resentment). Very often, the receiving

person can sense that the apology is not genuine, so it does not help

them to feel supported or cared for – if anything, they can find it more
frustrating. It is better to acknowledge that the child does not yet have

the skill of empathy and to plan additional support for them to gain

this crucial skill – hold them to account rather than control.

6. The 3 stages of empathy are 1) Cognitive empathy (I know how you

feel) 2) Emotional empathy (I can feel what you are feeling) and 3)
Empathic concern (I want you to feel better).

7. Some people do not have empathy due to trauma and adverse

experiences which shut off the parts of the brain responsible for this

as a protection strategy – the feelings would otherwise be too much.
This can sometimes be referred to as shielding.