At the end of my tether with my 7 year old

[butterflyjoe]

For the last few months my 7 year old has become rude,arrogant and disobedient. He seems to think he's my equal and will never accept the word No!!! I have tried al kinds of punishment like sending to his room, sending him to bed early and taking away games console etc but nothing seems to work.
i am a single working parent and although i'm not perfect I'm trying my very best. Please can someone give me some ideas on how i regain respect and control as I am at my wits end...Thank you. (PS this is my very post on here so be gentle with me)

Hi butterfly. I'm going through same with dd whose 8. It's been going on for about a week now. I just keep thinking that if I carry on setting boundaries consistently and stating expectations and so on then we'll get back on track. She's had me in tears almost with sheer frustration though!

You have my sympathy. My 10 year old is turning a corner from being a very biddable and responsive child to a stroppy, sullen, monster. When I ask him to do anything he just looks at me like I'm mad. Some of the old sanctions still work but I can feel them slipping away. I am putting it down to hormones and approaching puberty although 7 seems a bit young for this but then again I am not an expert on all that and every child is different.

Are all other things equal in his life? There's no problems at school or with other family members that might be triggering this change in behaviour?

Thank you for the replies. I agree 7 does seem young, I was expecting some of this behaviour as a teenager but not now. I think the thing that upsets me the most is his complete lack of respect for me.
I am not aware of any problems at school but i will check with his teacher. What i will say is that he has no male role model in his life and a lot of people i have spoken to think this could be a contributing factor. He does see his Dad but as he lives away this is fairly infrequent and there is no discipline from him and I'm also aware that all the activities he does like football and rugby all the other children have their Dad's there. My ex wouldn't even know what team he plays for.
I just really need to regain the upper hand and the respect i deserve as his Mum and an adult.