Children s attitudes to sex are influenced by the environment at home. Parental disapproval is absorbed into the child s personality and becomes an internal watchdog, a type of conscience. Persists through the first year of life. Pleasure from sucking and eating is centred on the mouth. Hence the name oral stage.
Toilet training becomes an important challenge for the child.
The child derives pleasure from retaining the expelling faeces. Here, the pleasure is located near the anus. Hence the name anal stage. Interest centres on the penis. Girls envy penises and worry that they are castrated males.