Personally I don't believe you have anything to feel sorry for. The problem was with the elders, not with you.
Sadly in our world, adults are taken at their word more often than kids are which shouldn't be the case. If anything, a parent should examine both sides of the story, come to their own conclusions and police the situation based off those findings.
The thing I've come to realize as a parent seems to differ from many other parents I know. I don't believe the kid is lying, telling the truth or anything intentionally. Kids perceive situations much differently than we do so it's best to keep that in mind when discussing anything serious in nature and try to see it from their eyes. I've gained a lot of "kid" wisdom by throwing the adult crap away.
It also really helps if you can try to listen through your own ears and understand with your brain, only roll the clock back 20 or 30 years to when you were that age. It seems to have helped me immensly anyway and my daughter still talks to me about everything (and I mean everything).
|