My son was incredibly difficult at that age, and for the next 10 years. And I blamed my husband, a lot. Now in retrospect, I see that there wasn't anything my husband could have done either. The kid was just out of control.
A few years later, my second son started displaying bad behavior. Luckily, it was at school, and he got caught. (I didn't think it was lucky at the time.) He spent the next year at a Catholic boarding school an hour from our home. It was expensive. But it was a bargain! Those brothers taught my son to respect his elders, to do what he is told, and to accept punishment as his just reward for bad behavior. I wish I had sent the older boy to boarding school in 8th or 9th grade.
