My youngest dc child is 17 months right now and if she does something that makes one of her dcfriends cry then I ask her to look at her friend and I tell her what she did to hurt him and ask her to hug him to make him feel better. She doesn't have any words yet but I don't think a child is ever too young to teach empathy for others and that caring for one another is a very good thing. We don't hurt others! Can you tell that I'm having an issue with my youngest two dckids right now?

For the children who have language skills, yes I do ask them to say sorry to somebody if they have hurt them, look at their faces to see and understand that they are crying and very sad, then a hug. I've never had to force a child to do it. Once they look at the other child and really see that they are very sad they understand and they are learning about being nice.

No, I would not accept sorry, sorry from a child for doing something they know is wrong, that would be a timeout or other punishment, for some of the things the other ladies mentioned like throwing food on the floor.