Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“What's a question about the future you find yourself wondering about, could be about you, could be about the world?”

What to listen for

If it's personal ('will I still be friends with so-and-so,' 'what will I be good at'), that tells you they're actively working out who they'll become, and how much certainty or anxiety is wrapped up in that. Listen for the emotional tone underneath, curious and excited is different from worried and uncertain, and both deserve a different kind of response from you.

If it's about the world (climate, technology, whether things will be okay), take it seriously rather than reassuring too fast, kids this age are genuinely tracking bigger questions and want to know their concerns are real to you too.

If they say they don't think about the future much, that's fine, some kids protect themselves by staying present, and that's worth respecting, not pushing against.

What this tells you

This tells you what's currently living in the back of their mind about who they're becoming and how safe or shaky that feels.