I'm feeling so lost with my 5 year old DS.
He's an intense guy who feels things very deeply. He is pretty bright with amazing speech for his age (can talk / use words more complex than average but doesn't necessarily always comprehend what he's saying).
He's had a lot of fears and anxiety lately, been fibbing a bit to try and get out of school, sleep has been poor. He's also been very defiant and rude, lots of power struggles. There have been no major changes in his life to link this to.
I feel lost how to help him. When he's very rude I'm just unsure what to do or say. When I was a child I'd be smacked if I spoke like him.
I'd like to hear what discipline methods people use. I have been using fairly gentle methods and putting a lot of energy into trying to understand the reason behind behaviour etc but it's doesn't seem to be the right path to take.