Question
My very bright 10-year-old son simply refuses to obey. He is child #2 of 4 kids. He seems to take up all of our parenting energy. He spent a lot of time in the office for the first half of grade 5, often aligns himself with the trouble makers in social situations, and doesn't seem to care about consequences. I've heard Dr. Rosemond ask whether there is anyone that can get appropriate behaviour from the child, but it seems that the problems occur everywhere - within our own family, at school, at church, and at grandparents. I have never been a parent who pays my children a lot of attention, but he seems to crave attention (even if it's negative) and he definitely thinks he is a "big fish". We had one big incident at school last year, after which he was in his room for a month, with nothing to occupy him. His behavior improved marginally for a short time. I have told him he has this year to improve his behavior or he will not be going to Jr High next year as I cannot trust him to make good decisions with the freedom he'll have there. I fully intend to follow through. Any suggestions?
