People who take us for suckers are like the Westerner who had on exhibit his superior marksmanship in the form of a number of bull's-eye achievements. The promoter who wanted to sign him up for the circus asked him how he was able to do it. His answer was simple but honest. He just shot at the board and then drew circles around the holes to form a bull's-eye.

One of the obstacles to the easy control of a 2 -- year old child is a lack of verbal communication. The child understands no. He senses his mother's disapproval. But explanations leave him confused and unmoved.

If his mother loves him, he clings to that love as a ballast. It motivates his behavior. He wants Mommy to think him a good boy. He doesn't want her to look frowningly at him, or speak to him angrily. This breaks his heart. He wants to be called sweet, good, considerate and mother's little helper. But even mother's loving attitude will not always prevent misbehavior.

His desires are so strong that he needs constant reassurance of his mother's love for him and what she expects of him, in order to overcome them. His own inner voice, which should tell him what not to do, has not developed. It won't develop until he has words with which to clothe it. The conscience is non-existent in the 2 -- year old.

What can a mother do then to prevent misbehavior? She can decrease the number of temptations. She can remove all knick-knacks within reach. The fewer nos she has to utter the more effective they will be.