I was listening to the radio and I heard and Ad about a Pin Lined, double breasted creme brelea suit that may, or may not, catch on fire. It was an ad for a Diploma or something. Ive heard another one about Chocolate frogs in the olympics. And I was wondering if anyone knew what these ad's were acctually about? They are quite funny.
If you have chains, you should be OK. Check the road conditions on the Siskiyou Summit before you leave Ashland.
It sounds like you're describing a child messed up by somebody else, who is angry. The methods you described, for the most part, should work well for an 8 year old. In all seriousness, I think a counselor/therapist would be useful in this case, because there seems to be a deeper issue causing that type of behavior. I wish you the best of luck!
He really does need counciling. You can approach the school he attends and ask that he sees the school councelor, as they are free. Also, if he is not your 'actual'/by blood son, there are different rules for state aid for someone you 'took in' as a minor. You should call your local social services office and ask them for details. Also, going to church and approaching counciling that way (through a youth group, pastor, or minister) may be of major help for you. Sounds like this is due to his lack of 'feeling safe' - no matter how much you reassure him. He needs to know that you'll NEVER leave him - EVER. You could tell him for years and it may take longer - which is why the councelors is a great outlet for you. Best of luck.
On the backtalking thing: Think about why he's doing it. Maybe he feels left out and wants more attention and is backtalking/talking over you for attention. You need to go two ways to fix this - and you need to do BOTH. First, you need to spend more one-on-one play time with him. Or cuddle time - something to make him feel more wanted. He is probably struggling with rejection and reacting the only way he knows how. I believe he is craving loving social contract. Second, AFTER you get the additional 'loving' firmly into the picture, balance it out with respect. Tell him that you love and respect him and expect him to respect you. Try to talk to him like an adult, when he does the talk-over/rude interrupt, give him a system that removes him from the social contract that he craves. Go to your room is the most common of these. Try to punish him with things that are easy for you and hard for him to change. Don't take away toys, but send him to his room. Say No TV for the remainder of the day whenever you talk back that's healthy anyway. Anyway you decide to do it, keep up with a SYSTEM - the best thing you can do is designate a clear and simple system of cause and effect, so (for example) he knows when he talks back that he'll have to go to his room. It's this system that creates a strong foundation of discipline. And - start with baby steps. The world wasn't built in a day, and he's a little boy worth feeling sorry for.
