A friend recently asked me how I get my 12-year-old to talk because her tween merely gives her grunts.

I told her I couldn’t relate; because my son tells me

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I get to hear about what happened at lunch, all the jokes he told during the day (because he thinks he’s hilarious), what David Dobrik is doing onTik Tokand how he plans to do the same for his four followers (one of which is me).

The only thing he won’t talk about is homework *insert eye roll.*

But, my kid doesn’t just talk about himself; he’ll ask me questions about Trump. About World War II. About Cancer. About the property market. About drugs (I am quizzed incessantly about those!). About sport. About Greta Thunberg.

Like his mum, this child’s curiosity about the world around him is limitless. He’s always trying to make sense of something – of everything. He loves the news, and he loves facts.

And

The truth is,

Even though I’m a big believer in not lying to my son, and demonstrating that it’s ok to not know everything, I’ll admit, there are times when I ‘fake it til I make it’, because I’m so keen to keep being his go-to sage.

Yes, this means I improvise answers. And yes, by ‘improvise’ I mean deflect and lie.

Son: “Mum, will there ever be an earthquake in Sydney?”

Me, knowing he’s a worrier: “No, of course not…but don’t Google it.”

If I can’t come up with a speedy and legitimate-sounding response, I occasionally

This is where being a former lawyer really comes in handy.

“Mum, can you have a heart attack when you’re a kid?”

“Oh, did I tell you your order from EB Games arrived?” Genius.

The other thing I do when I don’t have the answers is…cheat. I put on podcasts that provide answers as they raise discussion points – which totally lets me off the hook.

The other day, we were listening to a pod that was discussing climate change, and it perfectly explained why the world’s in the state that it’s in, in a way that I couldn’t; that is, with the best facts.

After listening to it, I then swooped in to talk about how different the reaction to Al Gore’s

That’s why I’m excited about the new

The best thing is that each episode is bite-sized; perfect for the car ride to or from school, or sports, or the shops.

That’s Incrediblewill also be great for any parent out there, like my friend, who struggles to get their kid engaged in meaningful conversation beyond grunts.