Constant Contradicting

I laughed and tickled a lot whenever my kids contradicted me. Basically I made it a game. They were learning about the world, learning that they could have a different opinion, and we tried to make it fun. That was the only way I could stay sane. (wine in the evenings helped too)

Vodka.
J/K--hang in there!
It IS a phase! LOL

Sounds like you need to get a book on antonyms. Make it a "funny" thing when you two read the book together. Anytime you can think of a word that has one during the day, ask him what the antonym is. When he says "pop" if you say "soda", tell him that "no, that's not an antonym. Tell me a word that has an antonym" and then turn the conversation to antonyms again. He'll be so busy trying to remember what was in the book, that he'll forget to argue with you.

When he's older, after he is out of this stage, start on synonyms...!

Have fun! (Literally! The more you have fun with it, the less time he'll try to spend pushing your buttons!)

Dawn

Pick your battles. You could ignore it...

Or make it silly. He knows that it's daytime when he says it's night time...next time, say "okay, it's night time...let's go to bed!" I'll bet he corrects HIMSELF! If he says it's hot when it's cold, say...okay, lets go put on our swim shorts (even if he gets a little chilly, he'll admit that he's cold!).

Best of luck!

Yeah, we had to play opposite days:) Try to keep it loose and don't show fear or frustration. he'll pick up on it and then get stuck on it. Maybe next time, go with it and give it backlike.
kid: "What are you drinking?"
you: "Tea."
kid:"No, pop."
you:"No, koolaid."
ETC. could help, could not. Just a thought.

Do not argue back. Do not correct him at all. Its all a game to drive you nuts!!! He will stop when he sees your not reacting to him.

I agree with the others, just a phase, make it a game. And just to give you a heads up, they do it all over again when they're teenagers. They are just somehow compelled to correct you no matter how slightly.

It is a phase. I just played along with it - with enthusiasm (the key). I say - it's daytime'. He says 'it's night time'. Me - wow, you are right, let's see - look over there - that must be the moon (me pointing randomly). Now - let's see - the stars are over there. And guess what (with great enthusiasm) - if it's night time - it must be BED TIME - let's go get in pajamas - hurry, hurry, hurry.

It was much easier to make things a game and fun than to make everything a confrontation. Win-win rather than a winner and a loser.

I saw no reason at all to discipline my son for learning and exploring - the world and the language.

It is a stage and totally normal. He is learning from this, but if it drives you crazy, just try toignoreit and he will drop it with you.

This is how I invented the game What's For Dinner? It always seemed to be the first thing they asked when I picked them up from school. Most of the time I hadn't thought about it , so I would answer "Earwax Pie" or "Booger Soup". Anytime they played this contradiction game you describe, I would tell them we were to have <insert gross food here> for dinner that night.
"No, Mama! Not that AGAIN!" they would say.
"Oh, yes, and it will be worse than last time!" I would respond. And so on, until they had dissolved into giggles about it.

Sometimes you just have to not take kids so seriously. It's an exercise in imagination. It's not a behavioral problem, it's just a kid being a kid. Even at 5yo, I would play this game with them, with increasingly more disgusting foods, and it always curbed their need to be contrary.

Normal stage, turn it into a joke or teaching moment. Now, when it comes to IMPORTANT stuff, it's not joke time. Otherwise, if he says hot when it's cold, do some overacting, etc. He's learning to process things, and learning opposites, etc. Try to make it fun and interesting instead of making a big deal about the unimportant stuff.

My husband does this and it's so annoying! I thought my kids learned it from him, but my friend's kids did it too at this age. I simply don't allow my kids to do it because it's a rude habit that is hard to break (impossible later if my husband is any example).

They can have differing opinions, etc, but when it comes to the instant automatic contradicting thing-I call it talking back and warn them they will be disciplined if they keep it up, and that works. I have to remind them occasionally, but not often. The best was when my 4 year-old son told my husband he was being rude when I said, "We have to be there at 5" and he said "More like five 'til five". My son said, "That's rude, Papa, you don't need to correct every little thing." My husband didn't dare correct him for talking back, either, because I had said the same thing to him so many times and he did not want to tick me off :)

If it's a stage, why does my defiant 5 ur old still do it? I say the show is over, she says, no it's not. I say it's not time to get up yet, she says yes it is. And not just to me, to everybody. It's cute when they're 3. It's disrespectful at 5. I have moved into the correction stage, way passed the laugh it off, ignore it stage.

It is a phase, and I concur with One and Done...some days a stiff drink is a nice balm.

But really, I used all of the below-- humor, gentle correction and sometimes, depending on the situation, just plain old ignoring. It all depends on what's appropriate to the situation.

Ignore, ignore, ignore. That's the best way, at least for us, to squash annoying behavior. The more attention you give it, and the more you argue, just makes it worse. No point or winning with a 3 year old, anyway.. just let them believe they're right.

Updated

Ignore, ignore, ignore. That's the best way, at least for us, to squash annoying behavior. The more attention you give it, and the more you argue, just makes it worse. No point or winning with a 3 year old, anyway.. just let them believe they're right.