Oedipus Complex and Preschool Physical Development

The Oedipus Complex: Definition and Resolution

According to psychoanalysis, from ages 3 to 6, children face the phallic stage. In this phase, the Oedipus complex appears in children, named after the Greek myth in which Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. For Freud, early in life, babies are joined in a symbiotic relationship with their mother and feel all the affection of the mother is for them. Until age two, they believe the mother is exclusively theirs, but from the moment they see a rival taking the love they seek exclusively from the mother—the father—a triangular relationship begins. In this dynamic, the child feels parental aggression yet fears being punished for it.

The child, in their fantasy, "feels that they are coming into competition with a giant." Yet, the father is a key figure in the child's life, and the child needs to resolve this conflict. This conflict is overcome by internalizing the prohibition and identifying with the parents. Thus, if the mother is prohibited, the conflict with the father disappears. Internalizing the prohibition of the mother results in identification with a parent; for girls, this is generally stronger with the mother, and for boys, with the father.

Physical Appearance of Preschoolers Aged 3 to 6

Many 6-year-old children can recognize pictures of themselves at age 2, when they were more squat. Their bodies usually begin to lengthen the lower body and burn stored fat from infancy. The preschool child no longer has a protruding stomach, a round face, disproportionately short limbs, or a large head, which characterizes a 2-year-old. Changes in body proportions are accompanied by steady increases in height and weight. From ages 2 to 6, children gain about two kilos of weight each year. At age 6, the average child in a developed country weighs about 21 kilos and measures approximately 117 centimeters.

Within the normal range, developmental differences are quite large. Among the many factors that influence growth, the three most important are:

• Heredity
• Health care
• Child nutrition

In general, boys are more muscular, have less body fat, and are slightly taller and heavier than girls throughout childhood, although this varies according to culture and the age of the child. By age 6, the child's body proportions are not very different from those of an adult.