Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old
The prompt
“If you could mash up two costumes into one and wear it for no reason at all, what would it be?”
What to listen for
Whatever wild combination they invent, notice the two things they picked, sometimes kids mash together a "strong" costume and a "cute" one, or a "scary" one and a "funny" one, which can hint at wanting to feel powerful and lovable at the same time. There's no wrong combination here, the point is pure joyful nonsense.
If they choose something totally impractical and giggle about it, that's a great sign of relaxed, playful confidence tonight.
If they say "I don't know," name two of their favorite costumes from memory and ask what a mash-up of those two would look like.
What this tells you
The two things they choose to combine often hint at two qualities they'd love to feel at once, like strong and silly, or brave and cute.