Or do things FOR them. Or help them do something to the extent that it would have been quicker and easier to do it for them. And ask the SAME questions over and over and over....and over and over and over. And when it comes to food, movies, activities or whatever, his favorite thing to say is "I don't like that." Never mind that he never actually tasted it, tried it, experienced it or even had any idea what IT was. Dawn would pretty much try ANYTHING...at least once, when she was a kid. Not Tyler. You either have to trick him or make him think it was his idea. And talk! OMG, that boy could talk the ears off a jack@ss. Of course, he comes by that honestly, but it seems to escalate with each generation, and it is somewhat unusual for a boy, at least in my experience.
On the positive side, the boy has no use for a lot of the usual childhood foolishness, like cartoons (a good thing these days, since most are either obscene, generally inappropriate for children or politically corrected). His favorite channels since he was barely toddling have been Animal Planet, Discovery and anything to do with storms. He has a passionate fascination with the Titanic, tornadoes, reptiles, sharks and even history and will watch documentaries for hours.
On the other hand, he is completely self-absorbed. I guess a certain amount of that is normal at his age, but he has already determined the conditions under which he will get married and that he doesn't want children. Obviously, kids do change, but he is certainly adamant about it, and in a serious way, unlike the "I hate girls" phase that most boys go through.
I recognized early on that I had met my match for stubborness in this boy.
FOFLOL. Yes. You seem to have him sized up pretty well and he sounds like a challenge. LOL You're going to have an interesting few months.