Maybe somebody here has some insight or past experience?

My sister-in-law in LA has 2 kids. The boy is 8, the girl is 6. The boy has a history of bullying other kids. He is also very bossy at home, and if he doesn't get his way, he throws a major fit and starts hitting and punching anyone or anything in sight. His parents believe that they should give him free reign, and never tell him 'no'.

It is now to the point where he got kicked out of scouts and other after school activities, and his mom has to come to the school twice a day to deal with his bad behavior. He also now has a college-age mentor who stays with him through most of the school day to act as his grown-up 'buddy'. I don't think the kid has any real friends. Last week he was in the middle of a fight on the playground. The mentor and a teacher were holding him down, while that section of the school was evacuated. When they let him go, he wound up and punched the mentor in the face, resulting in a 3 day suspension.

The kid calls the shots at home, and he insults visitors without reprimand from his parents. He has never been spanked or even scolded. Just a cooing "let's do this instead" kind of thing. I'm afraid for her and whats going to happen when he's 15 or 16 and physically stronger than she is. I told her that her son should not be the boss of the house, and she agrees but she seems helpless as to what to do. His dad is developing a short fuse with all this and faces other personal issues. So far they have not tried any meds for ADD or hyperactivity. My gut instinct would be to give the kid a big smack across the face next time he acts up, just to reestablish the pecking order, but I wouldn't even try suggesting that.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma