A sad realization

Yesterday Ains had a moment of realization that made me both sad and proud at the same time. The kids and I were in their bathroom brushing teeth and getting ready for the day. Owen was standing on the toilet (because he has deemed that his "spot" even if it is completely unsafe) and Ains was on the ground. They were getting kind of rowdy and making each other laugh. Ains got a little carried away and suddenly went over to Owen and gave him a shove. Owen fell in between the wall and the toilet. Obviously there were immediately cries from Owen, but after a few seconds Ains started crying too. I knew she immediately knew she had done something wrong, but I still wanted to make her apologize to Owen and understand that what she did was not okay. After some time of sobbing she finally told Owen that she was sorry.

Flash forward 5 minutes later and Ains is still crying while Owen is now running around playing happily. At this point I'm begging Ains to stop crying. I told her that Owen was the one that got hurt and he wasn't crying anymore. After asking her over and over why she was still crying she finally said, "It's all my fault!" I felt so bad for her. She really, truly felt sorry for what she had done. I then pointed out that Owen was fine and not hurt badly, and that in the future she just needed to be more careful to not hurt people.

I think this is the first time that Ains has been really sorry for hurting someone else. She is finally feeling empathy for others. While it was obviously something sad for her I can't help but think it was a little breakthrough in her emotional and social development. My little girl is growing up!