[mncantor]

Our older son, age 4 and adopted at 2.5, has started doing something we don't understand with my husband. When DH asks him to stop doing something, or to please follow instructions, and our kid doesn't want to, he'll start by just whining repeatedly, I don't want to, and then it becomes a power struggle, and our son works himself up into a frenzy. Since he never does this with me, I can't explain it, but DH describes him as becoming manic, and he'll laugh hysterically and will run away and not listen. It's as if he disappears mentally, and there's just this maniacal kid that looks nothing like ours. Eventually he comes back, but by then he has worn himself out completely.

We will be asking our therapist about this, but do any of your children do the same? And any idea why he'd react to my husband like that but not to me? He's not always crazy about my directions or questions, but he's never been that oppositional.