Talking to boys and getting through to them never seizes to amaze me. They will only answer your question if they don't feel threatened by it. It's the golden rule. My 7 year old answered me about cleaning his room if he knew he wasn't going to get into trouble. My 9 year old will repeat the question back to me as if he was checking to see if I meant what I said. The 11 and 13 year olds tune me out, but will hear and answer the same question only if he was asked by the big guy, the 16 year old. My 16 year old will not answer any question I ask if it makes him feel stupid. My oldest was driving his brother and another player home from soccer practice recently and I asked him if he knew what exit to take to drop the kid off. He answered, "Yeah, don't you think I know where I'm going? Jeez, Mom, give me a break!" Yep, he felt threatened and I got the message. So, I casually say, "Oh yeah, you know where White Lake Dr., is." My husband isn't any better. When asked does he know when our sons's soccer game starts, his reply was, "The same as last year's game." Then, I said, "Ok, I'll see you at 7." See, I just let him off the hook. When I get the feeling that I'm not going to get a straight answer, I know that they some how feel threatened by the question. So, I supply the trick answer and we both win. Men and boys hate anyone thinking that they don't know what they are doing. That's why they don't ask for directions. Here's a tip for mothers of sons. . . talk like you're a spy in another country.