Watch your parent at work once if you can. You’ll see a whole person you didn’t know existed.

At home you see a parent in one role, tired and in the middle of the household. At work they are competent, needed, joking with people you have never met, and usually a slightly different person altogether. Watching that fills in a large gap in what you know about them. Most of their day has been invisible to you your whole life.

If it can be done without getting in the way, go and see where a parent works. Ask what the hardest part of the day is and what they are genuinely good at. Listen out for the parts that surprise you.