As the father of a 17 and a 19 year old, I have one word of advice or you: patience.

Your child will not be 15 y/o for ever, he will grow up.

In the meantime, accept that he will push your buttons, he will test you, and he will be 15. Try to walk away rather than yelling and capitalize on spending any quality time with him (even if only 15 minutes a day) so you don't associate each other's presence only with conflict.

Good luck!

Good advice, Hypnosis...

My youngest son turned 18 in May. He was the mouthiest know-it-all kid I have ever seen! Its like now that he turned 18, and has to be responsible for himself and his bills, hes starting to "get it". I also love the tape recorder idea...wish I would have thought of that!

well, it's nice to know that my son isn't the only one who thinks that he has to argue every point or to prove himself no matter the cost. he also has to have everything spelled out to him in detail.

I thought today, "No wonder they used to foster teenage boys out to be apprentices or let them run off to be cabin boys in the old days!"
15 is the awful age for my younger son, and 17 was the age for his older brother. Their hormonal development seemed to be the main factor. Related to that, we also found that they would be very nice to their girlfriends and then take all their badness out on the family when they got off the phone!
My heart goes out to all the parents and also to our confused, struggling kids. It gets more complicated when they struggle with suicidal feelings as mine has for the last year. He's got a good counselor and psychiatrist, but had a bad experience with anti-depressants increasing his self-destructive thoughts. It's been a rough year, but we're glad he's still alive and willing to keep trying.
I would always caution any parent to take this kind of thing seriously, but also to try to take care of themselves while it's going on.
I recently had a sudden cardiac arrest less than a week after my son's last emergency psych eval. The stress really can do this kind of thing.
I recommend enjoying any of the good moments and have as much support from others as you can. Our goal right now is to just get us all through this stuff alive!

I just dropped by and reading all your post was really helpful to me. I too am struggling with similar growing pains.

Whew! So they all get mouthy at 15??? Thank goodness I am not alone. I pack up the i-pod, cell phone and x-box and lock them in my trunk while he sleeps then take them to the office until his "attitude" improves. Sometimes it gets uglier before it gets better but being cut off from his cyber world nets results sooner rather than later.

It does suprise me how quickly he "forgets". Aargh! Rinse, lather and repeat. Patience is a virtue!

I've convinced kids of ages need boundaries.

Wow, you guys don't know how much I appreciate your support. It's a New Year I hope things get better for everyone of you including myself. H
My son got himself grounded today for lying about a homework package we picked up on Tuesday, he was to do his chores and this homeweork package before he got any freedom (games ,friends etc). Well what a surprise he lied and said it was done, I asked to see it and of course I couldn't because it wasn't done, so I sent his friends home and he's now doing the work.He tried to agrue and say well it's as good as done I was going to finish it later. DUH DUH what doesn't he get, he lied and got busted so he needs to quit his whinging and deal with the consequences. I am going to try to stay patience. Wish me luck..

Wow - I am very impressed. You are very creative. And the best thing is your son responded to it! High five for you!!

Note: Perhaps we all should have recorders around the house to hear how we all sound? Would THAT be interesting!