I have three children boys, age 9yrs 71/2 yrs and 5yrs. they are easy peasy individually. all are very active and confident. The eldest and youngest are easy to manage in most situations. My middle child is my most affectionate, most noisy least confident and can be trusted to be the most non compliant/disruptive when ever he can. E.g meal times, when we have visitors or are visiting. He seems to have learned that getting into trouble is worth it if it makes his peers laugh. However not only am I left tearing out my hair but he receives negative feedback from other parents when he does this. In turn this lowesr his confidence more. Also his behaviour causes me to spend more time trying to deal withg it hence the others receive less and lesss of my time particularly in public when there is no time out zone. Help i adore him and want to help him not to behave like this.

The problem is probably that your eldest is your first born, your youngest is the 'baby' of the family, maybe the middle child feels left out. His behaviour may just be attention seeking.