My DS1 is 9. Over the last couple of years we have noticed that whenever he gets told off, he gets really negative about himself. Last night he was being sulky and difficult about going to bed. I told him (calmly, not crossly) that he had been allowed to stay up later than usual because it was the holidays, but if he carried on with the complaining etc then he wouldn't be allowed the extra time in future. Off he went to bed in a bid of a huff, then I went in to check on him about 10 mins later and he said 'I'm a heap of uselessness, I'm ungrateful'. He's done this before, saying all sorts like he's a horrible person, he's not good enough for us, he's selfish etc. I don't know where it's coming from, I try to talk to him about it but he says it's hard to explain. The rest of the time he's fine, he's happy, has lots of friends, he's bright, he's engaging, he's funny and he's great with this little brother. Is it just a normal thing, maybe hormones or should we be looking to get him to talk to someone professional about it?