they try furtively to knead and cook and wash clothes, and
sweep the floor. The mother feels wearied by them; she keeps on
repeating, "Be quiet; leave it alone. Don't tease me. Go away." Then
the child makes a great noise, throws himself on the ground, and
kicks; but then he begins again to do as much as he can without being
seen, as quickly as possible; and by trying to wash things in a hurry,
gives himself a bath; trying to conceal some contraband ragout, he
makes the floor dirty. The mother's anger, cries, and reproofs
increase; and the child reacts with naughtiness and tears; but begins
again almost at once.

Where the mother does not do her own work, the child, if intelligent,
is still more unfortunate. He looks for something which he cannot
find, and cries for no reason, he flies into a passion for which no
one can account; some fathers lament this, almost with despair. "My
child is very intelligent, but so naughty! nothing will satisfy him.
It is no use to buy toys for him, he is really overdone with them;
nothing is of any use."

The mother asks anxiously, "What do you advise me to do when the child
is naughty? and when he gets into passions? He is so naughty, he never
keeps still; I cannot contend with him any more."

It is rare to hear a mother say, "My baby is good--it is always
asleep." Who has not heard some poor mother shout in a threatening
voice to the crying babe in her arms, "Be quiet, be quiet, I tell
you!" and then, naturally the child is frightened, and redoubles its
cries.

This is the first contest of the man who enters the world: he has to
struggle with his parents, with those who have given him life. And
this occurs because his infant life is "different" from that of his
parents; the child has to form himself, whereas his parents are
already formed. The child must move about a great deal, to coordinate
his movements, which are not yet under control; the parents, on the
other hand, have their voluntary mobility organized, and can control
their movements; perhaps also they are often tired after their work.
The child's senses are not yet fully developed; his powers of
accommodation are insufficient, and need help from touching and
feeling, in order to take account of objects as well as of spaces;
and his eyes are rectified by the experience of his hands. The
parents, on the contrary, have developed senses, and have already
corrected the primitive illusions of these; their powers of
accommoda