TwinkleToes, yes you are right. Even my son who is 7 has improved in some areas. When he was younger, he never had big tantrums outside the house; just inside. But these have disappeared. What's changed though, is that he's gotten much more sarcastic and manipulative. Last evening a little before dinner time, he smelt the cooking and said, "Delicious!" I asked if he was hungry and wanted dinner earlier. "Yet again, you've misunderstood what I'm saying", he said snidely. Or when I chided him on something. He started talking about how soft and sweet I was to him when he was a baby. "So where's all that softness gone?", was his punchline. And basically, getting him to stop what he's doing to eat/bathe/sleep is still a hassle, if not more so.

I keep telling him to rephrase to show love and respect. But on some days, my patience wears really thin. Yes it's true - there are times when he's the sweetest, most caring guy around. But when he gets into these periods of sharp-tongueness, I just want to hide in a cave and not be part of it.

Outside adults either love him or hate him because he can get so sarcastic. I'm hoping that he'll tone down by 8 or 9. So in the meanwhile, that t-shirt idea sounds wonderful, kathleen's mum!