Oral stage
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The oral stage in psychology is the term used by Sigmund Freud to describe the development during the first eighteen months of life, in which an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth. This is the first of Freud's psychosexual stages.
If a child was not fed enough or was fed too much (over-protected), this may later create an oral fixation in that adult. It is believed that fixation in the oral stage can cause one of two things. If the child was treated well, fed lots, they will be orally dependent, and therefore selfish and wanton because they are used to getting what they want. They might learn to manipulate others to fulfill our needs rather than maturing to independence. The overly indulged child may resist growing up and try to return to that state of dependency through crying, acting helpless, demanding satisfaction and being "needy."
See also: anal stage and genital stage.