Originally Posted by mom2twoboys
But really, how do you handle it when your kid is being a know-it-all ... even if he is right?

Do you really think he was being a know-it-all? I'm not sure that I would have felt that way. (Perhaps because I am that way!) It is extremely difficult for these children to just let these kinds of things go. I've always been very much like this and it still causes a little friction in my life. For me, it's not about me being right, so much as it's about keeping error and falsehoods from contaminating things. wink

As far as being insincere and letting the person think they are right, I agree that there is definitely a time to just let it go. We usually allow two --three at the most --volleys before we drop the issue. However, we don't ever allow ds to say anything that isn't fully truthful (as far as we know it to be truthful). False flattery, "white" lies, shading the truth... none of these are allowed. So, simply saying something like "We'll have to agree to disagree" is the best we can do when someone wants to argue to the point where things begin to heat up.

Perhaps you can just teach him, as someone else suggested, that he can calmly try to present his point, then drop it if things seem to be going in a bad direction. Teach him to stand on his own, being confident in his own knowledge that he's right, because he will often find himself in this place due to his knowledge and inborn potential.