Jesus H. Christ, people, beating children is not the solution to discipline problems. Distract and redirect. I can find you some books or some seminars if the concept of not beating kids is too hard to grasp.
I am seriously disturbed to see so many parents bemoaning the fact that they can't use violence and force to mandate obedience.
The mother in the story is a crappy parent because she can't think how to address a tantrum other than with spanking, and she's actually forced into intelligent parenting (distract the child, redirect focus onto something more appropriate, explain and be firm but not unyielding) as the result of the (overly intrusive, I agree) social services folks. Whether it's up to the government to enforce such mandates is one thing, but if you can't stand your ground with a preschooler without using your superior size and strength... well, I don't know what else to tell you.