One day, I found my 4-year-old trying to give his 2-year-old sister a drink of water from his cup. Pam's clothes were soaked, and I scolded my son for his carelessness. Only later did it dawn on me that my son had simply been trying to share his water with his little sister. But because I spoke on impulse, his generosity only earned him criticism.

I knew I needed to apologize. "I'm sorry, Harry," I told him. "I shouldn't have scolded you when you were being so nice to share." His look of relief told me I'd done the right thing. No matter how much we love our children, we still make mistakes. Apologizing shows integrity and respect and encourages our children to do the same when they make mistakes.