Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old
The prompt
“Is there a story about us from before you were really old enough to remember it that you'd want to hear again?”
What to listen for
Naming a specific story shows they treasure the family's shared history and want to keep reinforcing their place in it, stories like this are literally identity-building material for them.
If they ask a lot of follow-up questions once you start telling it, that's a great sign of real engagement and curiosity about where they come from.
If they can't think of one, you could just offer to tell one anyway, sometimes the invitation matters more than them having to request it.
What this tells you
Wanting to hear a family story again shows how much they draw a sense of belonging and identity from the family's shared history.