I was having a discussion with a couple other moms and thought it was interesting. I am curious to know others opinions too.

If a 3 yr old hits, bites, etc. other children would you consider that child a bully? Would you discipline your child for acting this way or just let it go because children that age don't realize that they're hurting another child or that it's wrong?

Not looking for arguments, just other opinions. =0) 

Bully, yes even that young.

The wrong kind of discipline could make it worse, I would seek professional help to find or resolve the underlying cause (seeking negative attention etc) 

I wouldnt call them a bully, But I would however discipline my child for doing those things. 

I wouldnt call them a bully, But I would however discipline my child for doing those things.

agree^ 

To me it depends on how often the behavior is occuring. If it is an all the time thing then I would seek some help for my child, if it is an every once in awhile thing I correct the behavior and move on. 

I also consider a child that hits, bites, etc on a REGULAR BASIS a bully. I wouldn't say that to the child though.
I would also make my child apologize to whoever they hurt and make sure they know what they did wrong.

Other moms that I was talking to say its "normal" behavior for children & that "little babies" under 6 don't know any better. I think that's just nuts.
My kids know right from wrong & they're 5 & 6. 

A bully, no. A child who hasn't learned how to react to life, sure. I think bullying behaviors can be learned at this age, however, if not taught about the inappropriateness of it. While it's normal that kids go through these behaviors to learn from them, it's even more essential that parents are redirecting the behavior and addressing it as wrong. No excuses. 

I wouldnt call them a bully, But I would however discipline my child for doing those things.

It's considered "normal" behavior at that age.

While it's never acceptable, it's not necessarily bad parenting.

Some children, especially this young, have trouble voicing their wants/needs- frustrated, they'll act inappropriately.

Should they be disciplined, absolutely. 

I think the word "bully" is thrown around WAY too much these days. Some kids bite. It doesn't make them a bully. I think they absolutely should be disciplined appropriately, and they'll grow out of it. I don't know any 16 year olds who are still biters! 

A child this age is not a bully. A child this age is trying new things, learning new things. They are just starting to understand right from wrong. For a parent to say a child doesnt know right from wrong before they are 6 I feel bad for that child. There child is most likely to grow up to a brat and think its ok to do these things. You need to start teaching kids right from wrong right away. You let them get away with it and they learn its ok. My 2 year old knows its not right to hit or bit. Yes he trys it and he gets disciplined for it. Which depending on how bad it is we do time outs. If its biting I bite him back. That is how I grew up. And I feel that if he understands how it feels he wont do it. It seems to work. I have 3 kids and not one of them turned into serious bitters. They tried it and once I bite them back they didnt do it again. We also discuss how it hurts and that its naughty. If you ask him about biting or hitting he will tell you its naughty. 

To me, in able to be a bully you have to understand what your doing is wrong and be doing it with malice. Kids this age start to understand right from wrong but I don't think three year olds can form malice. I do think this behavior should be corrected and that parents need to take steps in protecting other kids. Our infant had a really bad biting problem from about 9 months to about 14 months. We wouldn't put him in church day care because of this in fear he would bite or hit other kids. He's stopped biting for now but still hits and throws toys at peoples heads. He is a very frustrated infant because of developmental delays. Many times even in older children hitting and biting are signs of frustration especially if they have trouble communicating. 

I don't want to read any responses until I write mine.

But, at younger 3 years old I wouldn't consider the child a bully. Older 3 would definately be paving the way. At 3 the child is still in a "selfish" mindset in my opinion "ME and MINE". Although a child may have a hard time understanding that biting causes pain to the victim they can understand how biting affects them. Example: If I bite, I go to time out. I think at any age a parent should strive to teach their child between right and wrong. To ignore completely is setting the child up for social failure. Around age one if a child bites, they should hear what you want them to do "gentle touch" and be removed from the situation. Age two a mixture of verbal reprimand (ex: "No, gentle touch, No, biting hurts we don't do that" and removed from the situation. 3+ verbal reprimand and timeout, and taught to apologize. Etc, based on age, mental capability.

At any age saying, "oh it's okay, ... is only two she doesn't know better is poor and lazy parenting.) 

Not a bully, they're just learning about what is socially acceptable and what's not. The behavior needs to be corrected but not a bully. 

I wouldn't say bully, but even though it is "normal" behavior at that age it doesn't make it ok.

younger 3 years old I wouldn't consider the child a bully.
I would have to disagree on this I do believe that even under 3 they can be a bully. However, most aren't because they don't understand what they are actually doing. The only reason I say that is because there was a girl in my daughter's class (they are both 2) at the CDC, she was only mean to 2 kids in the entire class. She would take toys, hit, push, pull hair, and bite. I took it up with the director (once I found out who it was) because it was so bad that just pulling up to the CDC my daughter would start screaming and crying that she didn't want to go. I did consider the little girl a bully.