Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“What's something you love imagining or pretending, even if you'd never tell your friends about it?”
What to listen for
If they share something rich and specific, they trust you with the private, unfiltered part of their mind, that's a big deal at this age when kids start guarding their inner world more.
If they laugh it off or say "that's babyish," gently let them know imagination doesn't have an age limit and you're not going to judge it.
If they insist they don't do that anymore, that could just be true, or it could mean they've learned to keep that part private, either way, no need to dig further tonight.
What this tells you
This tells you how much of their private inner world they're willing to let you see right now.