My son had some issues when he was little or rather, the world had issues with my son. He was difficult to raise, especially as a single Mum or a Mum with boyfriends that didn't give a fuck or worse.
When he was a toddler he was very tenacious and intelligent. Spanking was never the most effective punishment for him and I was relieved when he gained the power of reasoning at four years old - If you told my son he wasn't allowed to do something he didn't care, but if you explained to him why it was not a good idea then there was no issue. It had to make sense to him!
And respecting authority translated to authority being those people he judged as respectable. If you were a dick you would get nowhere with him. If you were strong and above board - there were no issues. And he is a smartarse and could take the micky out of an adult, even at 4yo. He would stir them like a mate at the pub might - he is very quick witted. It was hilarious and everybody would laugh unless the man being stirred was a dick and took offence.
I always said, that there was nothing wrong with my son's behaviour if he had have been 16yo and not a kid, and that the quick sense of humour and powers of discernment are great traits in an adult. He just needed to grow into his skin so others would accept it.
Of course, his manner did not sit well with the old "Children should be seen and not heard," ideal. A lot of adults hated him - especially Beta males. After watching my son grow up I firmly believe Beta males instinctively try to destroy the Alphas when they are young.
Fortunately his first grade teacher was a 60yo homely woman that worked him out within a week and she never had an issue. The next few teachers hated him. One sent us to a psychologist. The plan was that she plays a game with him and then he does some work for her. After 18mths, they were still spending the whole session playing games he wanted to play - she didn't even see it happening. He loved going there! So if a psychologist couldn't bend his will, well then what hope did his stupid teacher have. Lol.
I changed his school. I gave the new principal a heads up and she put him in with a male teacher that was remarkable with 10yo boys. (No he wasn't a predator). But he was remarkable and genuinely loved my son and other challenging kids and was able to work with him, and that made my life a lot easier. Lol.
He hated school in general and rarely did homework. But he was intelligent and a maths wiz (like his mother). Come puberty he worked out how to smile at the female teachers and then they all loved him. His sports teachers loved him too.
I had to deal with his self-esteem issues from so many people telling him he was bad. I took him to a psychologist who couldn't even get him to talk. Then I found one that dealt with ex-military personal and was great with Alpha male personalities. He used hypnosis. It helped and he was okay for a couple of years. My son always had a hint of depression (hereditary) and this peaked half way through his last year of high-school. He left.
When he was little he wanted to be a soldier, than he wanted to be a swat officer and then a police officer. He is 19yo now and currently working in security with aspirations to join the police force. He also did well in sales in the past. He has grown into his skin now.
His issues in life will be with learning to manage depression when it hits. Plus he has always been a bit chauvinist which he will have to keep in check. I bought a Hello Kitty toaster when he was in high school so he and his friends would have to eat Hello Kitty toast. Lol! I'm a bitch like that. I guess he gets his smart arsery from his mother too. Raising him was like trying to balance a marble in the centre of a dinner plate - it was exhausting, but I think I did fairly well. It would have been nice to have a strong male influence around, but he is gaining that positive influence now from work associates so that is good.