flash too bright with digital cameras?

I have a Canon A520 and a Sony DSC H1. When shooting
indoors, both cameras invariably shoot too bright - the
flash is too much for the setting.

The Sony has a setting for lowering the flash but even with
that set, many indoor photos are overexposed he because of
the flash. And this is often true for the Canon as well.

Is there a trick? A way around this? Is there another
setting one could use to compensate somehow?

I have a Nikon film camera with a built in flash and it
never creates this problem. And yet, I've seen several
digitals do so.

Help?

TIA

Louise