Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“Tell me about something you learned just from watching someone else do it, not from being taught.”

What to listen for

A clear example shows they're paying close attention to the world and trust their own ability to figure things out, that's real confidence in their own capability.

If they name a person they watched, notice who they chose, it tells you who they quietly look up to right now, which may not be who you'd expect.

If they can't think of anything, ask about a specific skill, like how they learned to do something on a device or in a game, kids often don't realize how much they teach themselves.

What this tells you

This reveals how much they trust themselves to learn independently versus needing to be told exactly what to do.