A single mother of two teenagers, ages 16 and 18, expresses concerns about the future. Which question best elicits her goals for her children?

• A. Describe your daily routine
• B. Explain why you think you cannot manage your children
• C. List goals for your children you can think of now
• D. Tell me what you would like to see happen with your children in the future

Answer: (D)

Focusing on future goals through an open-ended prompt helps you understand a caregiver’s hopes and priorities for her children, not just their current situation. By asking what you would like to see happen with your children in the future, you invite the mother to articulate long-term aspirations, values, and outcomes she cares about. This reveals where she wants her children to go—such as education, independence, safety, or emotional well-being—and what support or resources she believes are needed to get there. It also creates a collaborative, nonjudgmental space that can reduce defensiveness and encourage honest sharing about risks, barriers, and strengths.

Describing daily routines provides a snapshot of present life but doesn’t uncover her longer-term vision for her kids. Asking why she thinks she cannot manage the children tends to focus the conversation on perceived deficits and can provoke defensiveness. Asking to list goals she can think of now may constrain her thinking to what’s immediately in mind, potentially missing deeper or broader aspirations. The future-oriented, open-ended question best elicits meaningful goals that guide planning and support.