Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“Has there been a time you admitted a mistake instead of trying to cover it up?”
What to listen for
If they can describe choosing honesty even when it was uncomfortable, they're building a real, tested sense of integrity, not just following a rule because they're told to.
If they admit they've covered something up before, that honesty right now is actually the more important signal, thank them for it rather than reacting to the old mistake.
If they can't think of an example, that's fine; you can gently share a time you owned up to something, which often opens the door for their own story.
What this tells you
This shows you whether they're developing a genuine internal compass for honesty, separate from just fear of getting caught.