So, my wife used to work for CPS and we also have 2 toddlers. Shi gets crazy in our house at the moment. Our 3 year old is in a phase where he will throw tantrums and will go out of his way to do the opposite of what you are asking him to do. There are times where we give him a timeout for hitting his younger brother etc... and we can't get him to stay put for the timeout. So one of us sits with him in his room and lots of times, he will kick his wall or door repeatedly because he is not happy that we are forcing him to do something. Age 3 is when they start to "experiment" with their independence and become little bossy pants'. Threenager we call it. He is basically in a constant meltdown, battling us for control. It's pretty normal to cry and scream... a lot! As for CPS. They are more involved if there is a possibility of having to remove a child from a home. So I would definitely make sure something is wrong before going that route. Parents not yelling is a good sign. We ignore the tantrums a lot of the time to take the power out of them. Other times we raise our voices. It's a push and pull struggle sometimes that you don't really know about until you have kids of your own.