Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old
The prompt
“What's the last thing you made or built just because it sounded fun, not because you had to?”
What to listen for
An easy, energized answer shows they still have access to pure, unpressured creativity, building or making something with no stakes attached is a great sign of a mind that feels free to play.
If they can't think of anything recent, that might mean life has felt heavy on obligations lately, and it could be worth making a little space for a no-pressure project together.
If they describe something collaborative, made with a friend or sibling, that's an extra sign of connection layered into the creativity.
What this tells you
What they build purely for fun shows how much room they still have in their life for creativity without a grade or a goal attached.