Tonight with your 13 to 17 year old
The prompt
“Has there been a moment you realized one of us is honestly just a person figuring things out, not someone who has it all together?”
What to listen for
If they describe a specific moment you looked human, stressed, unsure, wrong about something, with warmth, that's a sign they're starting to see you as a real person, which deepens connection rather than threatening it; they need to know that realization is welcome, not something to hide from you.
If they bring it up with some lingering disappointment, listen without getting defensive, they need space to reconcile the parent they imagined with the parent you actually are.
If they say they've always known that, that's a comfortable, secure answer, nothing to fix there.
What this tells you
How they talk about seeing a parent as just a person shows you how their trust in you is maturing from idealized to real.