A child who brings you a mistake is offering a chance to remain someone they trust.

The first time a child tells you they broke something, they are running an experiment about you. What they learn from your reaction sets the rules for the next ten years: whether difficulty gets brought to you or hidden from you, whether the mistakes that reach you will be small ones or only the ones too big to conceal. The lasting matter is the route they will use later.

When the confession comes, deal with your own reaction first and the mistake second. Say that telling you was the right move before anything else. Consequences can still exist without costing you the route.