cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
How We Think About Forgiveness at Different Ages - Greater Good
Children's understanding of forgiving develops as they grow older.
If you’ve seen your children struggle to forgive someone for hurting them, you know that forgiveness is complicated. After all, forgiveness is complicated for adults, too. At times, we wonder why we’re trying to forgive someone anyway; later, we might think we’ve forgiven them, only to experience a sudden burst of anger and resentment.
Indeed, my research has found that it takes many years for us to grasp the notion of forgiveness as we grow up. In over 30 years of studying forgiveness, I have interviewed children and adolescents, as well as college students and adults—and found that our understanding of forgiveness evolves over childhood and young adulthood, partly influenced by what we learn from our parents and communities.
Children's understanding of forgiving develops as they grow older.
If you’ve seen your children struggle to forgive someone for hurting them, you know that forgiveness is complicated. After all, forgiveness is complicated for adults, too. At times, we wonder why we’re trying to forgive someone anyway; later, we might think we’ve forgiven them, only to experience a sudden burst of anger and resentment.
Indeed, my research has found that it takes many years for us to grasp the notion of forgiveness as we grow up. In over 30 years of studying forgiveness, I have interviewed children and adolescents, as well as college students and adults—and found that our understanding of forgiveness evolves over childhood and young adulthood, partly influenced by what we learn from our parents and communities.