I'm going to reserve judgment until I hear the airline's side of it (if they make any kind of statement). This is a tough call. My heart definitely does go out to the child and his mother, BUT - depending on how out of control the boy was, it could have potentially caused a dangerous situation. If he was screaming and flailing, he could hurt people walking by, or they could trip over him. If the crew needed to make emergency announcements, passengers may not have been able to hear them over his screams. And if the pilot could hear him from the cockpit (since he apparently came out to speak to the mother), what if he was having trouble hearing messages from the control tower over the noise?

Curious to hear AA's take on this.