The first of Freud's psychosexual stages of developments is the oral stage (birth to 1 year). The main focus of this stage is the mouth, making the rooting reflex very important. Infants are gratified through activities such as eating/tasting and sucking on objects. Since the infant does not do these activities to themselves, they develop a deep sense of trust in their parents through the oral stimulation. If fixation were to occur and there was no weaning the infant off of the oral stage, then Freud believed the child would grow up to have dependency and aggression issues and result in drinking or smoking problems.
The second stage of Freud's psychosexual stages of development is the anal stage (1 to 3 years). The main focus of this stage is bowel movement and bladder control. When the child is potty-trained and can control these bodily functions on their own, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and independence. If the experiences in this stage were primarily positive, then Freud believed that the child would become more competent, productive, and creative. On the other hand, if the parents do not intend on potty training their child and are too lenient, then Freud said the child would have an anal-explosive personality which is a messy and destructive personality type. Again, if the parent was too strict and punished their child for having accidents, then Freud said this child would develop an anal-retentive personality in which the child would become obsessive, orderly, and rigid.
The third stage of Freud's psychosexual stages of development is the phallic stage (3 to 6 years). The main focus at this stage is the genitals. During this stage children also begin to differentiate between male and female. The Oedipus Complex/Electra Complex also comes into play in the phallic stage. This is when the sons feel threatened by their father for the mother's affection and vice-verse. This also produces castration anxiety which is the son's fear of being pushed away and punished by his father for having such feelings for his mother; A similar fear for girls is called penis envy. Eventually, the children begin to identify with the same-sex parent, but Freud believed that girls remain fixated on this stage and do not identify with their mothers (This is a theory that Karen Horney denied).
The fourth stage of Freud's psychosexual stages of development is the latent period (6 to puberty). The main focus for this stage is that sexual feelings are inactive. This calm and peace period is due to the ego and superego development. This stage happens when the children start to enter school are gave interests in friends, sports, hobbies, etc. This is an important stage for the development of self-confidence and communication skills.
The fifth and final stage of psychosexual stages of development is the genital stage (puberty to death). The main focus for this stage is maturing sexual interests. Instead of a focus on the individual's needs like the rest of the stages, the genital stage increases the interest in the welfare of others. The main goal of this stage is to balance all of the aspects of life. This stage will be successful if the other four were as well.