Allowing a child to behave badly, speak disrespectfully, etc., reinforces a childs' primal belief that the world revolves around the child. As a helpless, newborn infant, the baby should be the center of his universe; but as the baby grows he should learn the whole universe does not revolve around him and he must respect others.
I think this is exactly right.
I always say that if a kid doesn't get limits--never hears a "no" that s/he can trust to mean *no*--then the child never learns to trust a parent's "yes" or "I love you" either.
Dependable is dependable, even when dependable means saying "no."
