S the Boss

S the Boss is the hardest to deal with of all my nieces and nephews at the moment. He's 10 years old, and he thinks that he knows absolutely everything. (Hence "the boss".) He will argue with you the entire time you are around him.

No exaggeration.

During the drive to the laser tag place, he informed Monkey T & I of the following:

1. I should buy a Playstation 3, even though I don't really care for video games.


2. Playstation 3's will never come down in price from where they are right now.


3. My husband's 4-wheeler that he has had since high school is not only NOT the model I said it was, but the problems he (my husband) has had with it are not valid.


4. 10-year-olds ABSOLUTELY should have had a girlfriend/boyfriend by now, and something is wrong with T because she just likes a boy and doesn't have a boyfriend yet.


5. The worst part of puberty is your skin


6. Our family can trace it's heritage back to the Queen of England


7. T should not like PT Cruisers, and if she insists that she does anyway, she should have an actual reason other than "It's cool looking"


8. Liking school is very uncool.

And the list goes on and on.

Please don't get me wrong. I love S dearly. He is just so, so difficult lately. It's really sad, because he used to be the sweetest little kid.

He & T are the same age - just a month apart. However, the two of them are so completely different. I am convinced that this is completely due to a difference in parenting strategy.

T's parents are extremely hands-on in all her many, many activities (including school, sports, piano, etc.) They spend a lot of time doing family activities. They encourage her to do her best in everything.

In return, she does well in everything she tries. She gets along with others, and listens well when you tell her to/not to do something.

S's parents are pretty unstable. They separate, get back together, separate, get back together. S spends a lot of his time on his own playing video games. He loves all things mechanical, and he has a go cart, a dirt bike, a four wheeler, and you get the point. His father is a Donny Downer. His parents try to bribe him with more toys/video games to do better in school.

In return, he hates school and has a hard time getting along with people.

I really hope this is a phase that he grows out of, but I'm afraid this is just the beginning.