DS is a lovely clever boy but he's really pushing boundaries right now. I feel like I have a mini teenager, "I don't want to eat, I'm still doing Lego/reading/etc." and then after the fourth time he comes and whinges "my eggs are cold." Or, grumpily, "I don't want to go to X/Y/Z," Or my favourite, "Why do I have to do SO MUCH?" when asked to tidy up his dishes after a meal. And being a pest to his 2 yo sister (snatching, screeching in her ear, etc). I know he gets jealous of her, so I do my best to reprimand her immediately if she snatches from him or strikes him, but it's really quite annoying! I try to talk to him about being kind and acting towards her how he'd like her to act (he often instigates) but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
He's also started lying. We walked out of the tube last week and he must have picked up a small piece of metal (there were works, perhaps it was a bit of leftover metal) as I heard it clank as if thrown or kicked. (I was walking a bit in front of him with the pushchair, he was scanning the pavement for rocks and sticks as you do). I turned and asked him what happened and he said he didn't know, he thought it must have come from the skips about 300m ahead of us. I could tell he had done something but I couldn't quite sort it (there were several cars parked there and I was concerned he would hit one)
He also does things like turn the tap on and run it for ages, I don't know exactly what he's doing but just messing about I reckon. He says he's not doing it but I hear the water in the pipes and see water splashed all over the countertop. Or he emptied the toothpaste and filled it with water and denied it.
He's quite clever and I love him to bits but my patience is wearing quite thin. DH is much more easygoing and can say "look, the toothpaste's turned to water" and laugh about it whilst I'm more likely to be annoyed and then doubly annoyed that he's lying about not having done it, and we end up in a conflict. Is this just a sort of phase? Any suggestions for managing 6 yo cheekiness or lying? Or for maintaining my patience? I know he's young and I'm sure pushing boundaries is developmentally normal but it is really quite trying.