Bad Days!!

Does anyone out there have a really hard child? Preferably a boy--nearly 10? I am in serious need of some help! I feel like I'm losing my child--and I don't know what to do about it.

Today he stayed home with an earache. As we were sitting on his bed I laid out the rules of the day--no playing PS2, no playing outside, and no scout outing in the evening. All of these are laid out for a couple of reasons. I want him to know what he is signing up for. And secondly--I want him to know what he will be giving up even if he's just faking. Usually by the time I'm finished with what they lose, they are up and getting ready for school. Not today!

So I thought ok, he's sick! So we started our day with him home, and as time has gone on he's becoming more and more angry with his inability to do anything. The thing that sent him to his room was the him throwing his 2 year old brother to the floor. I sent him up to his room threatening to leave him there forever!

He's come down to apologize, and normally I accept it readily--but not today! It was just too heinous an act to have him let himself out of 'Solitary'!! Like I said, I'm probably doing something wrong. I would have expected some of these things to go away by now, but he's just getting worse and worse, and I'm not finding any solutions!

Any ideas??