toddler aggression

Hello
My daughter went through a biting phase for almost a year last year. Through discipline, I was able to curb this behavior. She is 2 1/2 now and is now hitting and pushing the kids in her playgroup.  She doesn't do it all the time, sometimes she plays very nice with them.  But sometimes she'll look at an adult and then smiles and hits one of the children. Some of the other moms feel that this behavior is beyond aggression and she needs to be evaluated by a child behavior specialist. But the pediatricians I have talked to and the teachers I have talked to say that this behavior can be very typical for a 2 year old and just to continue with the discipline.  She is supposed to be starting pre-school in a couple of months and I fear she will continue this behavior in pre-school.  I don't know what to do. Please help.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is true that aggressive behavior among two-year-olds is not particularly unusual. It definitely needs to be managed, and you may well be on the right track. Whatever the case, it would not hurt to seek an evaluation by a qualified professional. Part of the evalation would include review of how you are managing the behavior management, and this alone could be very useful.