This makes me think of all those times in the past with different posts of celebrity children about Kingston's age who are pictured in strollers and people say "GAH, why isn't he/she walking?! They're old enough to walk!". Then I laugh and say "This is why!" Typical toddler. Though I hope for Gwen's sake that she uses a stroller in the future or someone is able to hold him. It's going to be hard to run after him when her bump gets wider and heavier. I speak from experience as a mama of a 3 1/2 y.o. and a 6 m.o. :p

WHOA!!!! Taking a swipe at the face and pulling her hair??!! THAT would not happen, and yes I do have children. Three of them and they would never do that. Even at that age. That kind of behavior would be dealt with right on the spot. My children have had temper tantrums in public..of course they have but hitting or any of the kind just would not happen. Especially towards me or any other adult.

oh for crying out loud Lisa.. he's a kid they sometimes do that..and I do have children a 3yr old and a 1 yr old and they don't have tantrums in public but it's ok.. this is NOT that serious...

first of all disciplining a 20month old is not like disciplining a 3year old, they don't understand cause and affect in the same way.....I don't mean to talk anyone down but lets not get above and beyond here, he was a frustrated baby, and his reaction needs to be understood in 20month old terms.

yeah i just saw the vid... that just looked like a simple 2 year old having a tantrum. You can't expect your kid to be perfect all the time and not show his emotions, he was mad... when toddlers are mad, they hit and pull hair.

i would consider my niece to be the most well behaved 2 year old yet she still has her tantrum days, kids do that!

and this would be the first time i've ever seen Kingston behave like that, he's usually really cooperative.

Cute Kid, Good Mother and Nanny. :)

He looks like he has his moments as a two-year old, and she handled that well.

Kingston is a typical toddler, asserting his independence. He got a bit frustrated at the end and she handled it well.

I would expect those exact remarks from others who allow their children to behave as such in public and in private. And I am sure you also give your children "choices".

Lisa- I'm sure that your children are not perfect. I haven't met a child yet that is. How did they learn not to hit- they were taught and disciplined. Just because it happened doesn't mean she "allowed" it, or that he got away with it.

The way you say "choices" makes it sound like a bad thing. Kids are people to- why shouldn't they be able to make age appropriate choices? They have to learn somehow.

Kingston was jus displaying typical behavior for a child that age. My parents never tolerated that kind of behavior either, and we were taught that at an early age.

My younger brother always had difficulties with that though! He was a hitter, thrower, and biter when he was little. He did it no matter what my parents told him. He was given the proper consequences for his age, but he would still do it again! He grew out of it though and is now a well behaved 16 year old. Some behavior is normal for small children. ;)

Oh I know I have definitely been there. SO FRUSTRATING!

It's funny, you never see celeb babies having meltdowns and I used to wonder how on earth they pulled that off considering how visible many celebs are with their kids. It's a relief to finally see that our fav celebs have to deal with their share of toddler meltdowns too. ;)

Well said, Mandy. I don't know a child who has NEVER lashed out physically in some way. Kingston just happened to be caught on video doing it. As parents, we don't "allow" it to happen. We see it happen and then discipline accordingly. Quite frankly, I wouldn't believe a parent who said their child has never behaved this way, in public or private. If they are telling the truth, then they should thank their lucky stars to have such an extraordinary child.

My daughter runs away any time she wants to...apparently, it's just Martha's world and I just live in it. :) Both of my children are independent and I wouldn't have it any other way. I actively parent for the long term and I want self confident children who are self confident adolescents and adults...and I'm sure Gwen is the same way. And that doesn't happen by squashing them every time they do something you'd rather not do, such as run around an airport!

And as the other posters said, you can't discipline a 20 month old other than to say, "No, we don't do that" over and over again...they truly do something once and then want to see if they get the same reaction the next time...and the next time...and the next time... :) That's how they learn cause and effect.

If my 2 year old (and my 5 year old when he was that age) gets picked up when he doesn't want to he will cry and flail his arms and sometimes he might hit me but I just grab his hand and not make a big deal. The bigger the reaction toddlers get from their parents the more they will keep doing it.

Besides we don't know what she did or said to him after they got in the car.

Yup! That's a toddler alright! Mine does that all the time.

Totally normal. My son is 17 months and runs away all the time. He also loves to pull hair and has hit me before. He just is trying to express his frustration. I make a huge deal out of it and say, "OWWWW that HURTS mommy. OW." and he gets a look on his face and knows he shouldn't do that. Eventually they will learn.

Kingston is certainly hitting that so-called "terrible two" stage. It was funny watching how Gwen was trying to get his coat on and carry him to the car, and he was protesting both times lol! Poor mom.

I may get ganged up on as well, but I agree with Lisa and her comments. A 20 month old may not fully comprehend, but they're not dumb either. They know what "no" means. I volunteer with young children around Kingston's age. Frustration or not, at some point they have to be taught right from wrong behavior. Call it tough love or whatever you want, but I wouldn't go for that either. Contrary to a toddler's sense of independence, they are not the boss. Only my opinion...

I have seen moms with nannies who wouldn't bend down to pick up a child having a minor tantrum, instead passing the child off to the nanny for discipline. Gwen did totally the right thing, in my opinion--she ignored the tantrum and got down to the matter at hand. As a mom of a baby just about King's age, I know that ignoring the unwanted behavior is punishment enough when Esme has a tantrum. She is learning that she gets my attention when she isn't throwing a superfluous fit.
I was thinking that Gwen was also being papparazzi savvy by not stopping to discipline him while on camera. Could you imagine the possible backlash she could have gotten on the flipside if she would have disciplined him on tape?

Aww kingston is just being a normal cranky baby. He usually seems very happy, but he is after all only 17 months. Totally normal IMO.

fallon- Actually, Kingston is 20 months old (although he'll be turning 21 months old later this month). He is the same age as Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. :)

I see nothing wrong with what happened in this video, however I know that other people would. I highly doubt that anybody here walks around with strange people taking their pictures and video taping them, so while you may have no problem stopping in the middle of a crowded sidewalk, were most people wouldn't bother to pay you any attention, to discipline your child, maybe Gwen waited 2 seconds until they were in the car and out of the view of thousands of people to discipline Kingston.

Funny, I happen to watch this video just 2 hours after I watched my family members 2 1/2 year old throw a full blown, don't want to put my coat on or leave right now i am going to scream at the top of my lungs and lash out at mommy kinda way. He was a very tired toddler and was only acting this way because he was exhausted. maybe Kingston was tired too. We don't know. And I totally agree with the above poster....do you really think Gwen could discipline him on camerea and not have backlash from it???? I think she handled it very nicely given the circumstances!

How horrible...a celebrity child that has a temper tantrum at 20 months old, he must not be disciplined.. LOL.I agree with the above posters and say that Gwen did the right thing.Also, even adults get cranky if they are tired, why shouldn't kids. Kingston is just doing typical toddler behavior. A Also, if she had disciplined him on tape, the same people talking about why isn't she disciplining him would complain why is she doing this in public.

what kingston did was quiet normal that doesn't make his parents bas my 18months old does it all the time.he doesn't want to hold hands and just run around non stop,and yes kid that age hit and sometimes bite no need to judge

The "choices" thing is bothering me. Very weird statement. (I say that as a mother and an educator.) In any case, my son is the same age and he certainly has his moments. They are not allowed nor are they acceptable; however, they do happen. I agree that Gwen probably handled the situation out of sight of the camera. Smart considering how judgemental millions of people can be. -- Myself included -- I think we have all seen parents who let their kids get out of hand, and on the flip side, we have also seen parents get out of hand. Neither is pleasant to watch and that being said - Gwen was going to be judged no matter what she did. Personally, I think she handled it beautifully considering how frustrated she probably was and how much she probably wanted to lash out at the cameras herself!

It must really suck to be a celebrity. Your kid throws a tantrum in public and you're a bad parent because your child was being a normal toddler. You don't discipline him right away so you're a bad parent.
On the flip side, you make your screaming fighting 2 year old sit and have a time-out (or whatever punishment you deem appropriate) in the middle of the street, and you're a bad parent. "How dare she do that in public!" "I can't believe she is so stern with her kids!"
Some people are never satisfied, and it seems to me, celebrities can never win. NOBODY'S perfect all the time, not even your kids Lisa!

Okay, in all honesty, I had not watched the video before my last post...I just watched it and seriously, WHAT THE HECK IS EVERYONE SO BENT OUT OF SHAPE OVER?!
I have worked with children and people with disabilities for several years, and I can't even count the number of times this EXACT thing has happened to me while caring for a toddler.
If children don't grow up learning how to express themselves, they will never be happy well rounded individuals. And did anyone see the look on Gwen's face, she was not happy. And dealing with something like that when you're angry can sometimes just make the situation worse.
And seriously, things like that, like what happened on that tape, don't really warrant much discipline. He hit her once, grabbed her hair, it's all in a days work for toddlers. Now, had he been repeatedly hitting her and screaming in her face, I would have been worried, but this is normal behaviour from a child who obviously feels like he isn't being understood, and the only rational way to deal with that, at least from his perspective, is to lash out.
And just so everyone knows, I am a trained and qualified Early Childhood Educator, as well as a trained and qualified support worker for adults and children with disabilities. So you can either take it from a professional, which I guarantee is the same advice she's getting from her nanny, or you can shoot down what I have studied and KNOW to be true, because you have all the answers and the rest of the world is wrong.

Maybe Lisa and Mary are referring to mothers who, like my daughter did (in spite of my disapproval, which I did not say, 'cause he is her kid, and I'm only the grammy) allow too young of an age children to make too many choices. A 2 yr old, does not and really, cannot, choose which set of sheets he wants. He doesn'need the responsibility of chosing when to leave a scene, or when to ride in the stroller, if it is for safety's sake. I think Gwen, and my daughter, are good mothers. But, a toddlers' job is to explore, not vote. Good choices can be made with experience and guidence. Those are parents' jobs..providing experience and guidence.

Just as a side note, I learned the other day that the "terrible two's" is primarily an American occurrence. Many children from other cultures and countries don't have this period in their development where they are difficult to handle. I guess it all depends on the environment a child grows up in and the parental norms of the society. Although it seems weird it makes sense how could "the terrible two's" be biological?

Note from Danielle: I don't think that the terrible twos is necessarily absent from other cultures- I think it's mainly that other cultures realize that obstinate behavior is part of toddlerhood and that it's not a problem, but just a natural and normal part of childhood.

For some reason, in American or Western culture, we developed the idea that babies should sleep through the night and should crawl at a certain age and walk at a certain age and talk at a certain age and behave in very specific ways and if they don't, it's a problem that we need to correct. I think other cultures are more relaxed about it and roll with the punches.

the terrible twos is an American thing??? ok have not heard that one and don't even know how to respond.

I saw nothing wrong with the video. If anyone saw how my niece and nephews can act when they're tired, wow just wow!! This was nothing!!

Kingston is displaying typical behavior and as Gwen I would be careful to how I discipline him in public. Had she turned around and yelled or hit him for doing what he did she'd be labeled a bad mother who can't control her kids tantrum. If she does nothing she's labeled as someone who doesn't know how to discipline or let's him get away with it. Really it's a damned if you do damned if you don't situation.

First off hitting or any type of physical abuse is not a healthy way of expressing one's emotion even for a 20 month old and frankly I am sick of hearing that. If you discipline on the spot the child will know why he is being disciplined for. If you wait he will not because of their attention span. I was disciplined on the spot and everyone I know including myself say I am an well-rounded independent HAPPY individual and I never threw a tantrum in public. There is a BIG difference between disciplining a child and child abuse.

seriously, i can't take this. a 20 month old having one minor tantrum is hardly "bad" behavior. we all check this site religiously and have any of you ever seen kingston not smiling? one bad moment and he's a "brat" who gets away with bad behavior and gwen is his enabling, bad parent. ridiculous! not to mention (for those of you claiming to have perfect kids) all kids have different personalities...my parents didn't let us get away with any bad behavior (we jokingly call them the manners police), and yet i was the biggest tantrum thrower (seriously, i was legendary) and my brother and sister were very calm and never lashed out as toddlers. my parents disciplined us all three the same (we were all very close in age) and yet, i constantly acted out and was loud, and pushed things as far as i could and all that good stuff as a toddler. all three of us went on to prestigious universities, great careers and happy lives as kind, loving people. some people are just more prone to "tantrumy" behavior as children. and personally, i'd prefer a kid with a little spunk, and an adventurous spirit to a sedate, "perfect" kid who never questions anything... but that's just me.

I wonder if the readers commenting that Kingston has a behavior problem or that Gwen didn't do the right thing have children of their own, especially gone through the toddler stage. I don't know any toddler who doesn't go through this on an occasional basis. (OK, maybe my niece Sophie but she was an abnormally well-behaved child.)

Does discipline HAVE to involved physical action? No. I think the healthy way to discipline a toddler is to do exactly what Gwen did- she stopped him. We were not able to hear her- for all we know, she told him to cut it out as well.

Terrible two's an American thing? Hah... two year olds are like that world wide. I lived in Europe for 4 years and saw many a "terrible Two". It's just not as commonly seen in public though. Most European children still have binkies by age 5!!! I don't know how many 7 yr olds I saw riding in strollers with a pacifier shoved in their mouths. But it does keep the public tantrums down to a minimum. BTW... I distinctly remember when Princess Diana's son, Prince Harry had a tantrum when he was two years old...in public, right in front of the palace. She whacked him on the tush!!! Funny back then she was seen as a loving mother just doling out discipline..now a days...she'd be seen as inhumane??? Mom's can't win, there's always the "Mommy Police" everywhere.

When my oldest was 3 yrs old, he was the king of tantrums...but if I just ignored him, he would stop after a couple of minutes. So we're shopping, and he decides to throw a fit, and I ignore him and continue shopping. He starts kicking my stomach, so I pull the cart instead ( I had JUST had a c-sect a week before and it kinda hurt lol), and continue on my business. THIS lady rounds the corner and lights into me, telling me she's going to report me for child neglect!!! I told her to mind her own business and started ignoring her too lol.

Ya know what??? My 3 yr old looked at her like she was a nut. He knew he was acting like a monster and he knew I was ignoring him for a reason lol. Basically stating...if I disciplined him, I would have gotten yelled at too. Mom's in today's age can't win. Society complains when your kids act up...then they get their panties in a twist when heaven forbid, Mom actually takes a stand against her mini-tyrant!!! ( kind of like those people in Boston wanting to ban spanking)

LMAO, a toddler acting out, having tantrums! Who would've thought it?

I've had that happen with just about every baby /toddler I've been in contact with... be it a cousin, nephew, etc.. My four and half year old nephew is still having his moments of not behaving. He'll tune you out when he knows he's done wrong and he's been scolded, and then he'll just go and hide and sulk... Until he's ready to cooperate again.

All I can say is that he's grown out of throwing himself onto the floor in one of his fits when he doesn't get his way. And the running away bit was something he'd do, he'd laugh and run knowing he was in trouble, but I'd always catch him.

The only type of punishment that works on him is if you take one of his toys away or limit what playing he can do or give him time out, then he'll rethink how he's been acting and straighten up so he can go back to playing, etc...

Lisa Whelchel, is that you?

I forgot to mention my "king of Tantrums" used to smack his head on the floor when he was irate..that ended once he was 3 1/2 yrs old. His forehead was always bruised from him banging his head on things in anger. (It was actually kind of nice when he did it in public at times...proved I wasn't the one whacking him with frying pans!!!)

Well... all that stopped when he decided to throw a fit in the Chicago Field Museum. If anyone's been there...you all remember the HUGE MARBLE COLUMNS? Yeah...he walked up to it and smacked his head on it...poor kid looked up, shook his head and NEVER, EVER did THAT again!!!

"I would expect those exact remarks from others who allow their children to behave as such in public and in private."

Well said Lisa. Just because a kid tries to do something (hit, pull hair) does not make it acceptable.

And I have to disagree with the people who are referring to Kingston as a baby. He is not a baby, he is a toddler, there is a big difference between those two things.

My grandmother told me a long time ago to never judge other people's kids or parenting styles because you never know how your own will end up. I can't stand when people criticize any celebrity as a parent because of a paparazzi clip or seeing a photo which show such a minuscule snippet of their daily lives, that we have no idea what they are like as parents, good or bad.

I haven't met a two year old who hasn't had a tantrum and I hardly would call that clip a tantrum. My own mother still talks about the day (many years ago) that I (the perfect child) threw a tantrum in a shoe store when she wouldn't buy me pink patent leather shoes ;)

Firstly, I am NOT talking about the fact that the child was running around but the fact that he hit his mother and pulled her hair. Children of 20 months are not babies and they are able to understand the difference between a weak, "Noooo, we don't do that", and a firm "NO! Do NOT do that". You correct the behavior at the time and you deal with it no matter what the situation is. As far as his running around..ok..a child is going to continue to do that when you make a game out of it as the Nanny or whoever the adult was with her did. She played dodge across the walkway and he probably thought that was funny. Again, when you correct the behavior AT THE TIME it makes a difference. As far as "choices", you wouldn't (or shouldn't) give a child a choice to hold Mommy's hand crossing the street or not to and possibly get hit by a car. As the parent you make the choices for him/her because it is a matter of safety. It cracks me up how we are in the world of "choices" and "timeouts" and "one..two..three..ok, that's it, you can't play with your video game for a day world. Say what you will..read into it how you want, it was dangerous and SHOULD be unacceptable behavior from a child..but we are in the world of independence right? We now allow our 20 month olds to rule the house. I'm not saying that my own children have never acted up..they aren't perfect, but behavior was corrected AT THE TIME no matter what was going on or where we were and by 20 months, we didn't have issues. And what I am saying is pulling hair and slapping is unacceptable in my household..maybe not in yours. Let me ask this..if a child hit your child or pulled their hair would they just be asserting their independance or would it be unacceptable behavior? Would you want the child to be disciplined..to say that they are sorry? And what would you do if your child was kicked out of daycare because of biting? But you would want the child that keeps biting your child kicked out wouldn't you. Just my opinion.

To correct myself I should have said "the terrible twos" is primarily a Western (civilization) occurrence. In eastern countries such as India, Malaysia etc. and even African nations (yes I now Africa is not an eastern continent) children don't act out and throw tantrums in public. I mean look at how different their lives are from ours you cannot possibly tell me that the society a child is brought up in does not affect their behavior. That doesn't mean they don't get fussy from time to time but not the Western kicking and screaming in public tantrums.
What Kingston did was hardly a tantrum, he just wanted to run around but it was time to go. I think Gwen handled it well considering the paps were around. Hopefully she took care if it in the car. We don't know what kind of toddler Kingston is, all we see are a few pics from time to time and he has just reached toddlerhood, this could become a rare occurrence or a frequent occurrence. But let's hope not for his parents sake especially if they are going to have another baby to deal with.

My son is the same age as Kingston (well, a little older, I believe Kingston is later in May, but I digress) and he does the same thing. It's called being a toddler. And at this point all we, as parents, can do is sit him down and say 'we don't hit/bite/kick/etc' and then the next time it's a 1 minute time out (because he's 1). He's not doing anything that any other child on the planet hasn't done at one point or another, and if you sit here & say that your child has NEVER done that, then either you have a freakishly well behaved child or you're lying.

He's still as adorable as ever, despite his 'fit.' I don't even consider what he did a 'tantrum,' I consider a tantrum full out screaming, back arching, crying, etc.

I may be in the minority here, but I completely understand what you are saying Lisa, and I totally agree with you as well as LolaCola. I hate to give a reality check, but let's face it-children acting out, having tantrums in public, and disrupting those around them is socially acceptable in American culture. This is the age where children are allowed to run around church during the service and scream as loud as they want in restaurants while everyone around them is expected to just grin and bear it. That behavior was completely unacceptable in my parents' and grandparents' eyes; now, it's practically the norm. I wasn't always a little angel, nor were my parents and their siblings. The difference was that we had strictly enforced, clearly outlined limits and knew without a doubt that we would face the consequences if we chose to push them (and for those wondering, my parents never laid a hand on me). Today, as Lisa said, the kids run the show.

That commentary has nothing to do with the video. I wouldn't call what Kingston did a tantrum, nor would I say Gwen was letting him be the boss. I'm speaking to a bigger issue I see on a regular basis.

I am curious, though, as to why this video was posted here. Kingston is clearly annoyed/upset in the video, which violates the policy of not posting pictures/video of upset children and parents. And one had to know that posting this would spark debate. If that's what people are trying to avoid, I'm at a loss as to why this was posted on this site at all.

Sarah's note: I'm not sure why Danielle posted it, but I can ask her if she'd like to comment back.

Note from Danielle: Kingston is only annoyed because he wanted to run away and Gwen would not let him and because he didn't want to go in the car. We don't have a problem with debate. We only avoid situations where readers yell their opinions at each other without listening to other points of view.

Really people need to move on. It's not our kid and we all will or currently parent differently. I don't understand why some people are judging Gwen so harshly. I get debate but it's not a real debate when one side is completely ignoring the other side which is what I feel some of you are doing. It's basically, I'm right the rest of you wrong is what I'm getting from Lisa and others like her.

I think you all need to read the book "I was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids" and take a lesson! I too was the perfect parent before I was gifted with a very strong-willed, physical child (who happens to be 2 days older than Kingston and I would imagine is very much developmentally on track with him). When she gets upset her first reaction is to hit, bite, pull hair, etc. It is her natural reaction (something that is a primal instinct for humans), and is very typical toddler behavior. As a parent when she does any of those actions I immediately stop her, tell her that her behavior is unacceptable and send her to timeout until she can calm down.

I wonder if those of you who are criticizing Gwen think she should have spanked him, or hit him? Do you really think using physical force to teach a child not to get physical will make sense to a young toddler's mind? I have heard a lot of criticism but nobody has offered any alternate solutions. They have just talked about their perfect children.

All we can do as parents of toddlers is use our words, and some children get it quicker than others. Congratulations to those of you with submissive kids who are borderline perfect. Just because you have a perfect toddler doesn't mean they will be a perfect teenager so you might want to suspend your judgements or else you might be eating your words one day.

P.S. - I give my daughter choices...*GASP* God forbid I allow a toddler to decide whether she wants to eat toast or cereal for breakfast, or whether she wants to put her socks on first or her shirt, or whether she wants to walk down the steps or be carried. Just the other day she decided that she didn't want to wear a seatbelt and I figured it would be a really good learning opportunity for her to see some natural consequences...so I slammed on the brakes to teach her a lesson. JUST KIDDING! That was for you Lisa ;o)

Not necessarily Renee. This debate is probably not as bad as it could have been. I guess I'm one of the people like Lisa then, because I agree with what she and others like her have said. I just think some parents these days are almost afraid to discipline their kids. Like they're afraid they'll hurt their feelings or something. But it's what kids need. Discipline, rules, and boundaries. If it doesn't start in toddlerhood, when does it begin? When the child is almost past the point of correction? Come on. No one wants their child to be labeled as "the problem child". Yet, we have those kids in the nursery I volunteer at. Aside from the children's individual personalities, you can almost certainly tell which kids receive discipline at home, and which kids are allowed to do whatever they want. And as a child care worker, you just don't like to deal with the unruly kids. I'm absolutely not saying Kingston is unruly. Ok yeah, he's a toddler, they act out sometimes, no big deal. But the reality is that behaviors like that which continuously go unchecked can escalate and become more problematic as a child gets older. Whatever stance you take on parenting and discipline, I think that's a fair statement to make.

Okay, after reading all of these comments about how Gwen should discplined Kingston, how he shouldn't have been allowed to hit her, etc., I finally watched the video for myself. I must ask, what is the big deal?

I agree with the other commentors who have stated that it wasn't even a tantrum. Also, just because Kingston pulled Gwen's hair and swiped at her doesn't mean that she "allowed" it to happen or that she didn't discpline him once they got in the car.

I mean, should she have pinned his arms down to keep him from hitting her?! The fact of the matter is, toddlers are going to act up sometimes no matter how much you displine them or whether or not you "allow" certain behaviors.

Also, Mary, Lisa, etc., if Gwen HAD discplined Kingston in front of the cameras, how would you have reacted to it? Like other commentors had said, Gwen would probably be getting criticized for discplining her son in front of the paps if that was what she had chosen to do.

All of that said, why can't people focus on the postive things in this video? For example, at one point, Kingston visits with a dog. :)

Cute Amy :) And I agree - Lisa's explanation of "choices" is just laughable. Obviously, allowing a child to run out into the street or hold your hand is ridiculous. Allowing them to choose their own meal or socks is completely different. Additionally, to ask whether or not a parent would require their child to apologize for hitting another child? Another "of course." But out of curiosity - if you don't allow "choices" or "time-outs" or "We don't do that, it's not nice" (teaching) ... how exactly do you discipline your 2 year old?

Amy: None of the people who have a problem with Kingston's behavior have said anything here about hitting him - so I have no idea why you even brought that up.

And I think it's very funny that everyone who dares to disagree with the people who say "it's normal" are being accussed of being childless. If you read the posts from the people who are disagree with you, you'll see that those who have a problem with this kind of behavior do have children. I've raised seven children, several of them were incredibly strong-willed, and they were never allowed to get away with behavior like hitting and pulling hair. I think it's funny how the people who let their kids act like that always act as if it's simply impossible to make their kids behave.

Well said Amy. And for the post who "wondered" if I have children that have reached the toddler stage..I do. I have a teenager and a preteen and a 4 month old. Oh no..what if my baby grows up to be a brat, right?!! He won't because I stop the behavior at the time and I don't waste time with counting and timeouts. My children know their boundries, they know that they are children and the don't push the envelope. And no, I have never hit them or any of the sort. I just stop the behavior from the get go. It's a shame that we now live in a society where parents make excuses for their children's behavior and their own behavior. And brannon..WHY would you make a child apologize for hitting another child? Because it's wrong? Hurtful, disrespectful maybe?? He is just showing his frusturation. It's totally "normal" toddler behavior according to most of the posts. Hmm..but he can hit an adult. That is ok? A little heads up. IF you allow a CHILD to get away with it with an adult..he is GOING to do it with another child. Cause you are sending the message that it is OK. Sad.