""Most adult children understand their parents aren't perfect and have the best intentions when it comes to parenting," she said. "Some parents struggle with acknowledging unintentional or intentional hurt they may have inflicted on their adult children at any stage of their life.""
""Taking ownership not only creates space for emotional repair and connection, it also models humility and relational healing for the adult child, which can transcend into other relationships in their life," Dualan said."
""As a therapist, I work with a lot of Black clients specifically, and oftentimes when they express a concern about how they were raised, parents can become defensive or obstinate," he said. "This can be for a lot of reasons, of course, some of them personal and others cultural. There can be a lot of pressure to 'save face.' I think it's incredibly healing for Black families to try and normalize parents apologizing to their children when appropriate. It's certainly not the norm, but hopefully it becomes more common in time.""
Parents apologizing to adult children for unintentional or intentional pain facilitates emotional repair and strengthens relational connection. Adding "How can we work through this?" to an apology increases its impact and invites collaborative healing. Taking ownership models humility and relational repair that adult children can apply in other relationships. Cultural norms in some communities, particularly among Black families and some immigrant households, can inhibit parental apologies due to defensiveness, pressure to save face, or prioritizing safety over emotional connection. Normalizing appropriate parental apologies can be healing and may become more common over time.
Read at BuzzFeed
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