Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old

The prompt

“If nobody already knew you, how would you actually introduce yourself?”

What to listen for

If they can answer with confidence and specifics, it means they've got a real, current sense of their own identity that isn't dependent on being labeled by others, that's a strong sign of self-assurance.

If what they say feels different from how family or friends usually describe them, that gap is worth just noticing, not correcting, it might be exactly the version of themselves they're growing into.

If they freeze up or say "I don't know how to answer that," that's a completely normal response to a genuinely big question, you can rephrase it smaller, like asking what they'd want a stranger to know about them first.

What this tells you

This shows you how clearly they currently see themselves, independent of how anyone else defines them.