The child proposes marriage to his parent. Domestic play (both boys and girls) with dolls, teddy bears, and household equipment that began in infancy continues in childhood. (Gesell and Ilg, 1946, p. 319). At four years of age, the child shows interest in sex questions pertaining to where babies come from and how babies get out of their mothers. The attitudes he finds associated with elimination and the genital area as a portion of the excretory rather than reproductive system are greatly influential in the period following toilet training.
The game of "show" is common and often contains verbal play about
elimination. Interest in other people's bathrooms is high, and while he
may demand privacy for himself, the four year old child is extremely
interested in the bathroom activities of others. Under social stress he
often reacts by grasping the genitals and experiencing a need to urinate.
The four year old is interested in growing older. Play group activities
show a tendency for division along sex lines. And although the
four year old prefers to play with other children, he often participates
in play alone with only imaginary companions for playmates. (Gesell
and Ilg, 1946, p. 319, 323).
Five year olds behave in a way quite contrary to that which they
demonstrated only one year earlier. They appear to be more self-contained,
serious about themselves, and impressed with their ability to
imitate grown-up behavior. Their interest lies in immediate experiences
and they are more realistic than younger children, undertaking
those things they know they can do. An interest in babies in general,
as well as an interest in having a baby of one's own, is present and
this may be dramatized. Both boys and girls relate back to when they
were in mother's stomach or to the future when they will have a baby of
their own.
But despite this interest in pregnancy, they have yet to
make the connection between the appearance of a pregnant woman and the
presence of a baby. Sex play and games of "show" decrease in frequency
at this age as children become more modest and less apt to expose themselves.
Less bathroom play and interest in strange bathrooms than earlier
is characteristic of five year olds.
They are familiar with, but not as
much interested in, the physical differences between the sexes although
they may wonder as to why the father doesn't have breasts or a
sister doesn't have a penis. In play boy-girl pairs occur frequently.
Domestic play continues with imitative attempts at playing house,
store, and hospital.
Boys may reject girls' roles but still take part
in house play, imitating adult male activities. Dolls are given roles
as babies and cared for appropriately, especially by girls. (Gesell and
Ilg, 1946, p. 320, 323, 367).
At six years a marked awareness of and interest in the differences
between sexes in body structure arises that was not evident at five.
Questioning and mutual investigation by both sexes reveal practical answers
to questions about sex differences.
Interest in the origin of babies,
pregnancy, and birth continues. Interest in knowing how the baby
started is present and if the child is told of intercourse by older
playmates he may question his mother about it.
The six year old commonly
accepts the idea that the baby grows in the mother's stomach and
starts from a seed. He has some sort of vague notion that in sequence
babies follow marriage. How the baby comes out of the mother's stomach
and whether it hurts are favorite topics for questions. The six year
old wants a new baby in the family and desires to hold the baby after
it is born.
Mild sex play or exhibitionism in play or in school toilets
occurs. Simultaneously, one finds frequent name calling and giggling
involved with words dealing with the elimination function.
Games
of "show" and hospital (in which rectal temperatures are taken) are
common. Some children are subjected to sex play by older children and
some six year old girls are bothered by older men. Strong interest of
older boys for younger girls begins to appear among the children themselves.
Some confusion in the differentiation of the male and female
exists.