I just have to take a quick moment to "spew". I have this little guy I have been caring for for the past 3 years. He has a "quiet" demeanor at first, he "acts" shy when he chooses. He is a great kid when he is with me, but when his parents are present (like so many kids) he is nothing short of a little a**! not kidding. I know it's a harsh word for a child, but he is. He is the kid who, when I told him to take his feet off the back of his Mom's seat beacause his shoes were all muddy and he would get Mom's seat dirty, said "NO!" in my face, then laughed...his Mother heard it, and said nothing. He is also the one who, when I leaned in to give him a hug, when he was leaving my house, "spit in my face"...Dad laughed. His Father and I were chatting on the front porch one day and he leaned over an pulled a flower right out of a pot on my step, I looked right at him and said "_____, dont do that, it's disrespectful to miss_______, and hurts my flowers." Hlooks at me, then...grabs another one! no joke! Dad laughed! that time I looked right at his Dad and said (with a straight face) thats not funny! he didnt seem to care. Like I said, this child is NOTHING like this when its just me, I have made him have respect, but really done have to push it any more, he respects me, uses his manners, says sorry when he needs to, really is quite good. The ONLY time I notice things is when he is outside with younger kids, or in another room and thinks I cant see him, he tends to "push them around" gets aggressive with them. I have addressed that in tha past with the parents, concerned on whether the big brother (about 6 years older) may be a little aggressive or mean. They laugh and say, if anything....it's the other way around. (i've watched when this kid is alone with his big brother and the brother is pretty pushy) anyway,...my problem. He NEVER says good-bye to me, when he is walking out the door I say "good-bye _____,see you next time!" he says nothing, at the age of 4, he should show me a little more respect, the Dad Laughs!!!!! aaaaahhhhh! what a sh**! so frustrating to LOVE and care for a child for 10 hours and have them not only show me no respect but do it in front of the parent who won't encourage the child to respect me. On so many occasions, I have repeated myself and even gone running after him to give him a huge hug, and say OK, if you wont say good -bye I'll give you a big kiss!!! Bottom line...it really hurts my feelings, by the child and the parent.