We do "time in" where DS has to sit quietly and think about why we're not happy with what he has done (he was clearly happy with his behaviour and didn't see it as wrong!), then consider if he needs to apologise.

Of course, if he can explain my reaction was over the top, I apologise. And have done - once! It makes apologies from DS a lot more frequent now, as he knows I apologise too.
That sounds like an excellent way to deal with it because it shows your DS that adults make mistakes too, and that saying sorry is a good thing to do when you make a mistake, do something wrong etc.


I always try to explain to DSD why her behaviour is not acceptable, she is 11 so should know better. We also talk about acceptable and expected behaviour, and I share experiances about what I did wrong as a kid. I try to show her that I have made mistakes when I was a kid and I learnt from them.