Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“Has there been a moment you realized you'd completely changed your mind about something you used to believe? What was it?”

What to listen for

If they can name a real shift, about a person, an activity, a belief, that's a sign of real intellectual growth and flexibility, and it's worth telling them plainly that changing your mind with good reason is a strength, not a weakness. Listen for whether they seem a little embarrassed about the old opinion; if so, reassure them that everyone's beliefs evolve.

If they can't think of anything, that's fine, ask if there's something they're currently unsure about, which might be an opinion in the middle of shifting right now.

If the change involved a friend's or a parent's influence, that's worth noting gently as a sign of how much other people's views are shaping their own right now.

What this tells you

This tells you how their thinking is maturing and becoming more their own, shaped by real experience rather than just what they were first told.