Rudeness has no age barriers. Even if your son was the same age as Dad, his response would be insulting. One reason to teach children to be respectful to their parents is to give them the skill of being respectful to everyone throughout their lives, causing them to enjoy more successful relationships - especially intimate relationships in his own family life. Therefore, you should definitely work on this issue with him. Right now he "means no harm" by his behavior because he doesn't realize it is in fact harmful. It's up to YOU to explain the concepts of sensitivity and respect. Be specific, letting him know what you want and don't want from him. Then you can reinforce his progress by using the CLeaR Method (see Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice for details on this technique). After building his skill up to an acceptable level, you can use discipline (the 2X-Rule) to extinguish any further lapses of sensitivity or respect. This whole process is known as The Relationship Rule and is spelled out in detail in Raise Your Kids. Bottom line: don't let this behavior pass. Give your child the information and tools he needs to become more of a "gentleman." This will help him enormously in the long run.  Sarah Chana