I have never had a problem with Liebs showing me respect. OK, there have been a few incidences where he has been rude to my face, but his intentions were for a reaction not to disrespect me. But my parents have a huge problem with Liebling and respect. Why?

Well, I expect Liebling to be himself and a young gentleman all the time. I expect him to enjoy life and to be able to do things for himself. My mother still insists on dressing Liebs as if he cannot do it (for example) - so he does not listen to her when she asks him to get dressed, knowing he can kick and make a fuss when she does it for him (or will pick weather inappropriate clothes as she will change them, whereas I'll ask if he's too hot/cold and let him deal with it). Same with meals. He may not like all I serve him, but he tries it and leaves what he doesn't like. My mother will make him another meal - so he takes advantage of the fact that he's not trusted to eat food he usually does for me. My mother insists on spoonfeeding Liebs if he hasn't eaten enough for her liking; I teach Liebling that if he's full that's fine, he knows how his stomach feels better than I do. I respect my son and his decisions, she tells him how he feels.

I think we should be polite to everyone unless they do something so heinous that we have to say something rude. I think when people are polite to you and treat you as a human being, you automatically start to respect them: this value underpins how I'm bringing up my son. And wouldn't it be nice if everyone remembered that other people are people too?