Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“Can you think of a time a total stranger's kindness caught you off guard?”

What to listen for

If they light up telling this story, it means they're paying attention to good things happening around them, not just the hard stuff, that's a hopeful, trusting way of seeing the world.

If they can't think of an example, ask about someone being kind to anyone, not just them, sometimes witnessing kindness matters just as much as receiving it.

A shrug might just mean the moment felt small to them, small moments count too, so reassure them there's no wrong answer here.

What this tells you

This shows whether they generally expect the world to be kind or expect to have to look out for themselves.