Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“Tell me about a time you had to forgive a friend for something. How did you get there?”
What to listen for
A thoughtful answer about working through hurt feelings shows they're developing real emotional resilience in friendships, not just holding grudges or pretending nothing happened.
If they say they're still not over it, that's honest and important, don't rush them past it, just acknowledge how hard forgiving can be.
If they say forgiving was easy, ask what helped, their answer might be a genuinely useful strategy worth naming and praising.
What this tells you
This shows how they currently handle being hurt by someone they still want to stay close to.