Ok, then its a much easier situation to handle. I am glad to here its nothing "sudden", thats always the worst cases.

Now its basically a battle of "wills". Honestly it sounds like you have already given him "too much rope", hence he is not willing to "control" his behavior..because obviously he can.

So be the parent..MAKE him behave. "Spare the rod, spoil the child", but ALWAYS do it in LOVE...NEVER out of ANGER! Sometimes the best way to get the wax out of a child's unhearing ears is a good swat on the backside!

You have a common, but usually easily solved problem

I agree, but also know that she can be that strong and positive and stern WOMAN...

A positive male role model in the family needs to 'step in' and take authority. The boy has to learn basic respect principals from a strong, positive, yet stern man.

If he is "acting out" as dramatically as you have seemed to put it (it sounds "constantly") and if it is, there may be something more serious going on..so do some heavy checking, and maybe get a good couselor involved.

If this is something that has just "popped" out of the blue..DEFINITELY seek IMMEDIATE help, because it may be a warning sign something is/has happened in your son's life.

If he's been kinda that way and just getting worse, then just go with some counseling stuff.

Hope this helps!

Tough love can be so hard to give, my daughter was that way for a period in her life (around 7) sometimes lack of discipline leads them to acting out. Children want to have discipline and boundaries, they want our attention. I had issues with being what I considered "a mean mommy" but it's not mean, it's just setting boundaries that in the end help your child immensely. With my daughter it was giving her two choices... that's it!

I.E. "You can brush your teeth now and watch a video afterwards, or you can not brush your teeth and go to bed NOW"

It's amazing how simple it is, and yes, you will have tantrums, but pretty soon they learn that one choice is pretty awesome, the other, not so awesome. Makes everyone's life easier.

hope that helps

as a complete and total stranger....does he get special time with you or his other parent on a regular basis?