Children can be really great at talking when you're after some peace and quiet and really bad at it when you want them to say something.
One major dilemma some parents face comes at the end of a school day.
As you're making your way back home, you might ask them a couple of questions about what they've been doing in class, or how their big test went.
Some little ones might start reeling off everything that happened in mind-boggling detail, but others won't be quite so forthcoming.
So what do you do to get them to open up?
According to clinical psychologist Dr Wendy Mogel, there's a simple trick you can try to get them talking.
Appearing on a recent episode of Slate.com's How To! podcast with Charles Duhigg, Mogel explained how parents should speak to their kids at the end of a school day.
She said: "Our job as parents and educators of certainly girls, but especially right now young boys, is to be enchanted with their enchantment.
"When you pick your kid up at school, put down your device and say, 'I thought about you today when I saw [anything they like that they've told you about]'.
"If you came across something that connects their passion with your day, so that they know - these emotionally sensitive creatures - that you hold them in mind when you're not together.
"It means so much to them and it's really a magic trick. It really works."
So, essentially what Mogel is saying, is that if you begin the conversation by showing them that you care about something they care about and that you've been thinking of them during the day, they'll be much more endeared to you and will be more willing to have a wider discussion.
It's a sneaky tactic, but also kind of sweet.
