Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old
The prompt
“If you had a free afternoon every week to volunteer for something, what cause would you actually want to give your time to?”
What to listen for
A clear, specific answer shows they've already been thinking about the world beyond themselves and have identified something that matters to them personally, not just something that sounds good.
If they connect it to a personal experience, an animal, a person, an issue they've seen affect someone they know, that connection is the real story, worth asking a little more about.
If they say they don't know, that's completely fine at this age, caring about the world sometimes takes longer to focus into a specific cause.
What this tells you
The cause they'd choose to give time to shows what kind of contribution makes them feel like they matter beyond their own life.