Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“What's a trick shot or move you keep practicing over and over to finally nail it?”

What to listen for

The fact that they keep coming back to something difficult, without being told to, is a strong sign of real internal drive, notice how they talk about failing at it, whether it discourages them or fuels them.

If they describe small improvements with pride, that's them learning that mastery comes in increments, a lesson that will serve them in everything else too.

If they say they've given up trying to nail something, ask what made them stop, sometimes it's boredom, sometimes it's discouragement, and those need very different responses from you.

What this tells you

This shows you how they handle the gap between wanting to be good at something and not being there yet.