I'm beginning to doubt myself a bit with regard to how I interact with my son, who has just turned 7, but is clearly an old soul and more like a 50 year old in a little boy's body.He is an Aquarius with a Leo moon. The Leo shines through, big time! He is a natural little dictator.
I have tried my best, since he was small, to teach him how to ask for things politely, using whole sentences and the word "please", as opposed to barking out one word commands and such. My efforts have mostly failed, despite constant reminders.
Last night I opened the Listerine bottle for him and poured a bit into the cap that comes with the bottle. He said, in a very annoyed manner, "Why'd you pour it in there? Pour it into my Dixie cup!!!" I looked at him, as I always do, and said "Luke (name changed for purposes of privacy), don't tell me what to do. I am your mother. If you want it in the other cup, ask nicely." He, of course, glared at me and increased his angry gesturing. There might have been a "don't you know anything, Mommy?", although I'm not sure, because I was real tired. He usually says something to that effect. So, this time I just walked out because I could see things were going to escalate if I stayed. And I guess he managed to pour his own Listerine and gargle, and everything turned out ok.
Point is, am I doing the wrong thing insisting that he ask nicely and not treat ME like I am the child? Because he does do that, constantly. There's a good deal of berating and critique coming from him towards me, and it's very uncomfortable. I was never allowed to speak to my parents like that, and it irks me. I'm also trying to convey to him that if he speaks to friends like that, he's not going to have many.
Who thinks I should just give up, and who thinks something else?