I'm sorry

I heard the mother of a two year old the other day, scolding her child and directing him insistently to say 'sorry' to another child.  The young mother was clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable and this translated to her child who promptly began to cry. Still she pressed for the apology, which was not forth coming in this instance,.her exasperation increased obviously. Obviously to me, and to her child. Perhaps she felt she had failed somehow? If only she realised her expectations were unrealistic, she could cut herself some much needed slack. Instead she offered the apology herself and left with her sobbing child.

I have seen this exchange so many times and it's always strikes me as a nonsense.

Why do people, parents, child care 'professionals', especially those in England it would seem,  make very young children say they're sorry? 

I'm questioning the practice of adults prompting and indeed often insisting that their very young children 'say they're sorry' for their 'anti social' behaviour. Children as young as two are expected to offer apologies to others, regardless of their capacity to understand their own feelings, let alone the feelings of another person when it would be kinder and more productive in the long term to focus on building emotional awareness within children.