Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old

The prompt

“How do you feel about being interrupted while you're in the middle of playing or reading?”

What to listen for

Strong feelings here are completely normal at this age, being pulled out of something they're absorbed in can feel like a real loss of control, and naming that isn't being dramatic, it's being honest.

Listen for whether their frustration is about the interruption itself or about not being warned first, a heads-up before switching activities often solves most of the friction.

If they say it doesn't bother them, notice if that matches what you've seen, sometimes kids say what they think is the "easy" answer rather than the true one.

What this tells you

This shows you how much they need a little more control over their own focus and time.