I've been watching my nieces 7 yr old son for a couple of days.

He's a good kid, he plays by himself, is polite and respectful. However, he does certain things just like his father and it takes all I have to not berate him!

His father is a total loser who is completely ruled by his ego.
He won't take direction or listen to anyone. He thinks he knows everything and is always right. It has bit him in the ass more times than I can count and he never ever learns from past experiences.
He worked for DH for about 15 years off and on. DH tried to teach him basic construction and concrete work. He simply ignores what you say and tries it his way. In the end all he can do is basic labour. However, to hear him tell it, he's the one who ran all the jobs, from reading the plans to landscaping. He won't work for DH anymore because we won't pay him what he's worth. It's a bit of a joke with all the people DH works with.
Basically he's a child and has the attitude and temper tantrums to go with it.

The boy looks a lot like his dad, so when he acts like a normal 7 year old and won't let me help him I automatically think he's just mimicking his dad and I have a hard time not getting angry with him.
He also idolizes his dad and tells me constantly all the wonderful things his dad does and what a great worker he is. It sets my teeth on edge! (His Mom is great about not talking badly about Dad or putting him down in front of her son)

Obviously I don't treat him badly just because his father is an idiot. We've had a good couple of days wrapping presents and playing minecraft, it's just been a couple of moments when I see his father instead of him standing in front of me.

I have a whole new respect for all of you on here who have small skids who are exactly like their BM. I honestly don't know how you do it day in and day out. My hat is off to all of you