Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“If you could play any character from a movie or book for a day, who would you pick and why?”
What to listen for
Listen less for the character and more for the qualities they name, power, humor, freedom, being liked by everyone, being the one who saves the day. Those qualities are often a mirror of what they feel short on right now, or what they're proud of having.
If they pick a villain or an underdog, ask what pulls them there, kids this age often admire complexity, and it can reveal they're wrestling with their own sense of being misunderstood or wanting more control over their story.
A shrug or 'I don't know' is fine, you can offer your own pick and see if that loosens something up later.
What this tells you
Their choice tells you what kind of power, freedom, or recognition they're currently longing for in their own life.