Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old

The prompt

“How much do you actually want me involved when it comes to your friendships?”

What to listen for

A clear, confident answer, even if it's "not much", means they trust you enough to be honest about the boundary they want, and honoring it is how you prove that trust was well placed. Don't take a request for less involvement as rejection; it's a normal part of them owning their own social world.

If they say they want more input from you, that's valuable too, some teens want a sounding board even while pulling away in other areas, and that mix is completely normal.

If they're unsure, that's fine, you can just say you'll follow their lead and check back in sometime, without turning it into a bigger negotiation than it needs to be.

What this tells you

Their answer shows you exactly how much room they need from you right now to navigate their own social world, and trusting that number is how you keep the door open for later.