Kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for. They did that to MW because they knew it was bugging her and they knew there wasn't much she could do in retaliation.
I think I posted this somewhere before, but my friend's kid makes a public display every time he's being scolded or gets grabbed by the arm for something he did that was wrong. When my friend would grab his arm and put him in his stroller, the kid would go, "Ouch! They're hurting me. Heeeelllp! Someone help me!"
You can imagine what kind of looks my friends get from people in a mall. Does the kid know that what he was yelling would make his parents look bad? Of course he does.
