A.K.
I have a 15 year old, 12 year old and a 4 year old, all boys. I know exactly what you mean. I try to give the 15 year old his space. I don't let him win every argument, but I do pick my battles. I try different things, depending on the situation. Here are a few. I have him do chores and when he comes up to me in that smart alec, 'I know better than anyone else' or 'this is so stupid' attitude, I give him more chores, this continues until the attitude is gone. Taking away tv, computer or mp3 player sort of works, but usually he just says well I'll just go to sleep if there is nothing to do. Grounding him from being with friends doesn't really work for me, we live out in the county, nearest friend is 5 miles away, but it might work for you.
I try my best to teach him to respect others, including me, and that is, as one lady put it to me, 'like triing to nail jello to a tree' I do have to have talks with him here and there about treating other people. And I have gotten to the point at one time that I just told him, if he is not going to respect me as a parent, I will not do extra things for him-get his favorite food, take him places etc. because treating others with respect and consideration is a 2 way street.
Hope this helped and Good luck!
A.
