Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“Have you ever felt stuck in the middle between two friends who both wanted your loyalty?”

What to listen for

If they can describe navigating it, even imperfectly, they're learning that they don't have to fully abandon one relationship to keep another, an important, hard social skill worth acknowledging.

If they say they just picked a side to make it stop, that's honest and common; ask how that decision has sat with them since, without judgment.

If they say "I don't know," ask about any time two people wanted different things from them at once.

What this tells you

This tells you how they handle competing loyalties, which is a skill that only gets more important as they get older.