Its not admitting defeat to ask for help - its saying "I need more tools to handle this issue, so what have you got for me?" Its hard when you have a stubborn child - my second is like that (not to the same point that Evan is, but we butt heads ALOT) and you just have to stay one step ahead of them. Mine is worse if she doesn't get enough sleep at night, so that's one thing I wont negotiate on at night. Also in the morning the TV does not go on at all till I have put them on the bus. I don't have much that I can offer to help you, because our kids are slightly different so what works for me may not for you. I don't think that him not being a morning person is part of it - he can get himself up to watch his Dad play games. Maybe while he is watching he be getting dressed then. He seems to really love his Dad, so maybe if you had all his clothes out the night before it would be easy for you DH to give them to him and ask him to put them on while he is watching him?