Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“What's your favorite memory from a family game night?”
What to listen for
A quick, happy memory means those shared moments are landing exactly as intended, they feel closest to the family during ordinary fun, not just big events.
If they bring up a moment where they won, or where everyone laughed at the same thing, notice which one it is, winning matters differently to different kids, and it tells you what makes them feel good in front of others.
If they can't remember one, that's useful information too, maybe game nights have gotten rare or tense lately and it's worth planning one soon.
What this tells you
This shows what kind of shared moments actually make them feel like they belong in this family.