Sorry man – when are manners too much?

I’m not sure where he’s got it from, but N’s turned into the ‘sorry’ man.

You know? The English way of saying ‘sorry’ automatically, when it’s not their fault, or nothing really warrants it. That’s N at the moment.

He crowds me in the cloakroom while I’m trying to put his seat on the toilet for him, ‘sorry’.

I bump back into him because he’s stood too close, ‘sorry’.

He sits down in the wrong place or the right place, ‘sorry mummy’.

The other day, he said 3 sorrys in a row, and none were necessary as he’d not caused any harm or bother.

I’m not sure where he’s got it from.  Obviously we’ve taught him to say sorry when he’s hurt someone, or done something he shouldn’t, or there’s been an accident and caused a problem.  But we don’t by any means force him to say it all the time, and neither do nursery.  Similarly, at nursery they’re expected to apologise if they’ve hurt someone or if they’ve done something they’ve been told not to.  I can’t even say that he’s that good at saying it unprompted at home, usually.

I keep telling him, ‘thank you, but there’s no need to say sorry on this occasion’, but that seems to make it worse.

Then, the other day, I heard myself saying sorry, as I’d bumped into him when he was stood behind me.  Arrghhh.  Now I’m hearing it everywhere…I never thought it was something I said a lot so I’m keeping my ears peeled, as it’s a mystery at the moment.  While it’s very polite, it seems a bit ridiculous, so I’m hoping it’s a phase and he’ll get over it.  Maybe not all the time, just the times it isn’t required.

Has anyone else got a child who’s always saying sorry?