You are absolutely right. OP is clearly the disciplining parent while the father is the "anything you want, my sweet little boy" parent. In the long run the OP is doing right by her child but of course all the kid sees is that great, wonderful Daddy lets him have ice cream for dinner and horrible, mean Mommy makes him eat his yucky vegetables. I think this is more about the parents not being a united front and supporting each other; kids know when the parents are divided and how to manipulate that. That is exactly what this boy is doing; he is trying to guilt the OP into kissing his butt so she'll be in the "love loop" with him. Often the mother does more around the house which also can be a factor. Is he watching TV with the kid while she's scrubbing toilets? If so, she needs to set aside some time to be a "fun" parent, too. It becomes truly problematic when the parents compete with each other to be the favored parent. Kids REALLY know how to work that one! Stand your ground, OP, and it probably wouldn't hurt to see if you can get the father on board with a little more helping out or disciplining so that you aren't on an island.

People, people, people. Haven't you ever heard of the Oedipus complex? This is a classic case of it. Everything else is just speculation constructed out of thin air.

#66 Umm.... if that were the case than why isn't it the father he wants dead not the mom?

#74 Umm...see #70 for your answer. There are many stages to the Oedipus complex.

There are many stages of the Oedipus complex. You saying "classic case" through me off. Perhaps you are looking deeper into a sexual desire between son to father that I wasn't considering.

Now you know that the Oedipus complex embodies a period of resolution.